A tourist visits the garden at Jeju Shinhwa World in Seogwipo, Jeju, on July 28.YONHAP
Good evening. Hope you've had a wonderful Tuesday. Here are the stories you need to know in Korea.
In today's news, debate continues over Korea's jury trial system, with some supporting jurors' involvement in the judicial process and others saying that biases are affecting decisions, particularly in sexual offense cases.
In other stories, Korean companies are toning down the spice for their ramyeon brands as the noodle products grow in popularity overseas. And the Korean staple side dish kimchi is being endorsed by the U.S. government as a food that supports a diverse gut microbiome.
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Today's top story
KOREA
Common sense or juror bias? Verdict still out on Korea's jury trial system.
Nearly two decades ago, Korea introduced jury trials to bring ordinary people's common sense into the courtroom.
Critics, however, say the system also introduces jurors' biases and preconceptions, with gender stereotypes in sexual offense cases frequently cited as a prime example. For this reason, some critics argue that jury trials can become impression-based evaluations. As such, experts argue that the system is ill-suited to sexual offense cases because lay jurors tend to determine guilt based on which side's account appears more plausible rather than on a strict assessment of the evidence.
Kimchi gets U.S. government's endorsement as exports break records
The U.S. federal dietary recommendation is yet another first for Korea's fermented staple as it gains wider traction and more fans across the United States.
A new special bill would speed Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine program while legally barring any move toward developing or possessing nuclear weapons.
LG Innotek, TDK join forces to give robots better vision, sense of touch
For the partnership, LG Innotek is contributing its modularization and digital signal processing technology, and Japan-based TDK is doing the same with its tactile sensing technology.
![여한구 산업통상부 통상교섭본부장이 2일 서울 여의도 글래드호텔에서 열린 2026년 플랜트 정책 포럼에서 축사하고 있다. 2026.7.2 [산업통상부 제공. 재판매 및 DB 금지] photo@yna.co.kr/2026-07-02 13:35:28/](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12827065.jpg?imageId=12827065&panox=0.00&panoy=0.00&panow=100.00&panoh=100.00&heightx=0.00&heighty=0.00&heightw=100.00&heighth=100.00&width=960&height=720&format=webp&format=jpg)
