Suwon 'Citizen Jury Court' Reopens After 8 Years

Suwon City Citizens' Jury Court will be held again after 8 years. The photo shows the poster for the Citizens' Jury Court titled "Asking for Solutions to Smoking Conflicts in Apartment Complexes" that will be addressed this time.

The city of Suwon in Gyeonggi Province is resuming the 'Citizen Jury Court' after 8 years.

On the 8th, Suwon City announced that the '4th Citizen Jury Court' will be held on the 15th at 10:30 AM at the mock courtroom of Ajou University Law School (Yeonam Building, Room 601).

This Citizen Jury Court was convened after about 30 people, including the president of the Suwon Apartment Residents' Representatives Association, applied to the court with the agenda of 'Seeking Solutions to Conflicts over Smoking in Multi-family Housing' to find a reasonable way to resolve conflicts among residents caused by smoking in apartment complexes.

The Citizen Jury Court will be attended by the presiding judge (Attorney Choi Seon-ho), associate judge (Attorney Kim Young-woon), 10 to 20 citizen jurors, 2 stakeholders, 2 lawyers representing both sides, witnesses, citizens, and related public officials, totaling about 50 people.

Active lawyers recruited through the recommendation of the Gyeonggi Central Bar Association will represent both sides and conduct arguments on the day of the court.

A support team of 14 Ajou University students will assist the lawyers by collecting materials and conducting related interviews to support the arguments of both sides.

Among approximately 140 6th-term citizen preliminary jurors selected through public recruitment, 40 citizen juror candidates were chosen by random draw.

On the day of the court, from 9:30 AM, the selection process including the draw will be conducted to select 10 to 20 citizen jurors.

A Suwon city official stated, "We will create a communication platform where different claims and various opinions from experts and citizens are exchanged to find a reasonable solution that aligns with citizens' common sense," and added, "We will actively reflect the final verdict in city administration to promote governance that resonates with citizens."

Introduced in 2011 as the first of its kind among local governments nationwide, the 'Suwon Citizen Jury Court' is a system where citizens with no vested interests participate as jurors to mediate conflicts closely related to citizens' lives and find solutions.

When the Citizen Jury Court is held, 10 to 20 jurors are selected by random draw from the citizen preliminary juror group. Citizen jurors participate in decision-making through deliberation at the Citizen Jury Court.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.