Juror 8 ~ South Korea’s First Criminal Jury Trial

“Juror 8” is a 2019 Korean drama movie, categorized as a Historical, Crime, Mystery, and Legal drama, which recreates a true event, based on a true event: the first jury trial in South Korea, where 8 jurors deliver the very first verdict. This movie gem is available on many popular streaming platforms.

♦ A Moment to Remember in South Korea’s Judiciary History

“Juror 8”, opens in the year 2008, in Seoul, South Korea. The people’s participation in criminal trials began with the introduction of a jury system. All media’s attention is focused on this 1st Citizen Participation Trial. It is a criminal case involving matricide. A man is accused of killing his mother for money and has already confessed to the crime. It should be a slam dunk! There’s nothing to argue or dispute. He said he did it! Except … until …

The jury selection has been completed and Kim Joon-Kyeom is chosen as the presiding judge. The first thing she is told is that the jury selection is incomplete. One of the jurors had been planted by a newspaper to get an exclusive. Once that person was found out they were promptly eliminated. The judge is told that it’s perfectly OK to proceed with just 7 jurors. However, the judge refuses and tells them to call back the potential candidates who did not come when they were called.

Kwon Nam-Woo finds himself sitting before a judge and others, being asked questions he finds difficult to answer. Perhaps it was because he was so clueless or they did not have time to search for another juror that he was chosen to serve as Juror 8. And now the trial begins.

The first upset was that the defendant who had confessed suddenly changed to say that he could not remember. That meant the case could not be tried based on his confession because now there is a question as to why he confessed regarding what he now says he can’t remember.

The second change was that they ended up with only 7 jurors anyway. One of the jurors kept interrupting the trial and the judge kicked him off the jury because she said he could not be impartial. Like most jurors Kwon Nam-Woo has his own “priorities” and even though judging a person’s innocence or guilt is important, it’s not more important than what’s happening in his own private life. Isn’t that the attitude of most people? It didn’t seem to matter to him that he was making history. He tried to sneak out but got lost in the courtroom building.

Kwon Nam-Woo’s escape from jury duty failed. But he accidentally came face-to-face with the defendant and that brief encounter caused him to start questioning whether or not the man was guilty. The man had missing fingers. Kwon Nam-Woo was the first of the jurors who took the initiative to start asking questions such as:

• The defendant was accused of hitting his mother on the head with a hammer. But the defendant wears prosthetic gloves. Can he even swing a hammer? The defendant was asked to show if he could swing a hammer. He showed that he could.

But Kwon Nam-Woo didn’t stop there. Once the jury was shown to their room they were to discuss the case and vote Gulity or Not Guilty. Everybody said Guilty except Juror 8. He asked to see the case materials: the documentation, photos, and even the hammer. When he started asking questions, another one of the jurors started thinking … maybe the investigation was not conducted properly and the forensic doctor’s testimony should be questioned. The juror was kicked off the jury said that the doctor was WRONG!

The other jurors started getting frustrated and angry because they assumed the defendant was guilty and saw no reason not to vote that he was guilty. However, slowly but surely Kwon Nam-Woo started presenting several reasons why they should not rush to judgment. After all, a man’s life was hanging in the balance based on their verdict.

Kwon Nam-Woo asked to visit the crime scene and recreate the day of the mother’s death.

• It was the first that the jurors asked to see the investigation materials.
• It was the first that the jurors wanted to visit the crime scene.

Initially, the jurors agreed on a Guilty verdict, but at the last minute, a reasonable doubt arose. The mother might have wanted to commit suicide for the sake of her son’s financial well-being. Money is what they had argued about before she died.

Judge Kim Joon-Kyeom was about to read their unanimous guilty verdict when … all of the jurors raised their hands in objection. The judge took them aside to listen to what they had to say and told them that their verdict was NOT the final answer. The verdict of a jury is only a reference point. It’s the judge who decides.

The jurors were stunned. Do you mean to say that all of their effort to determine the defendant’s guilt or innocence didn’t really mean anything? The judge had the authority to overrule and decide to the contrary. Then … ??? … WHY BOTHER WITH THE JURY SYSTEM AT ALL?

Main Characters:

• Presiding judge Kim Joon-Kyeom (played by Moon So-Ri, “Queenmaker”, “Seoul Vibe”)
• Juror 8 Kwon Nam-Woo (played by Park Hyung-Sik, “Doctor Slump”, “Strong Girl Bong-Soon”, “Our Blooming Youth”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.3 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.4 out of 10 stars
• A Good Movie to Watch: 7.2 out of 10 stars
• FilmAffinity: 6.8 out of 10 stars
• Letterboxd: 3.5 out of 5 stars
• Rotten Tomatoes: 5 out of 5 stars
• Amazon customers rated this film 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rated this film 9.7 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

I read somewhere that this movie was based on the 1957 American film “12 Angry Men”. Not! However, it was similar because America also has a trial-by-jury system and because the 8^th Juror among the 12 was the first and most consistent voice of reason and compassion among all of the jurors. “Juror 8” is a true event in South Korea’s judiciary system and its recreation was praise-worthy. The 8^th Juror 8 was the one who started asking in-depth questions to thoroughly examine the possibility that the defendant might be innocent. If you keep a weekend movie watch list, this film should be on that list.

• If this Korean movie interests you, you might also like this 2022 K-drama series, “Through the Darkness: South Korea’s 1st Criminal Profiler”.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

[Review] The verdict is in: ‘Juror 8’ (2019) is a favorably atypical procedural drama | Tales from the Paulside

Based On A True Story Juror 8 Makes For A Fun Watch | hallyureviews

Five Reasons You Should Watch This Movie: Juror 8 | Dramas with a Side of Kimchi

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Viki Global TV. “JUROR 8 – OFFICIAL TRAILER | Park Hyung Sik, Moon so Ri, Baek Soo Jang, Yoon Kyung Ho.” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 10, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbLbZ-wUkyc.