The Jury Is In

They've gone to jury trials in South Korea on some criminal matters, and you can read about it here. As the article says, a jury's verdict here is never binding on the presiding judge, who makes the final decision.

This change is basically being phased in in tandem with the switch to US-style, post-graduate law schools. All of this raises the question: in an Asian civil-law culture, what's the impetus to ape the US to such an extent?