South Korea will introduce a new judicial system in 2007 which would allow public participation in the trial process. The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that according to the new system, a combination of a traditional U.S. 12-juror system and the German jury system will be initially introduced in the local judicial process in 2007 before a final version is fully adopted in 2012. Under the traditional American jury system, the 12 jurors listen to evidence and issue a verdict after being advised on the finer points of the law by the judge, who then only decides the penalty. However, in the German system, only two citizens sit on a panel along with three judges and thus play a much smaller role in the decision-making process. Under the judicial reform, in cases trying a criminal felony, a panel of five to nine citizens would take part in the trial process. As in the American jury system, the jurors are supposed to present their opinions on the case after sitting in on the trial. But the Korean judges will not be required to follow the jurors' decision. The Judicial Reform Committee plans to run the new system for five years from 2007 and decide on a finalized version in 2012.