Accused of a sex offense?
Do not face it alone

In these cases the first statement often sets the direction of everything that follows. Before you attend, go through the facts with an attorney and settle how the account will be given. Your attorney sits with you during questioning so that the interview stays within what the law allows, and reviews the written record of the interview. Attending without an attorney is permitted, but it is not advisable. If your Korean is limited you are entitled to an interpreter.

Since the 2013 reform removed most of the provisions that made these offences prosecutable only on complaint, a settlement no longer removes criminal liability by itself. It does carry real weight in sentencing, and it can influence whether charges are brought at all or whether a sentence is suspended. The timing, the form and the exact wording of a settlement matter a great deal, so it should be handled through an attorney rather than directly.

If the allegation is untrue, the priority is objective evidence rather than an emotional response: messages, call records, CCTV, location data and witness accounts, organised by time. A consistent account supported by that material, from the earliest stage of the investigation, is what shows the allegation does not hold. Where the circumstances clearly point to a false accusation, a complaint for false accusation can also be considered. This material becomes harder to obtain as time passes, so acting early matters.

Filming with a camera or similar device is an offence under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, and these cases usually involve the seizure of a phone or other device and a digital forensic examination. At that stage it is important to check the scope of the warrant and to exercise the right to be present. Whether a recording exists, what it contains, whether there was intent and whether there was consent are all contested elements, so an attorney should review the case from the outset.

A conviction can make you subject to registration of personal information, depending on the type of offence and the sentence, and the court may additionally order disclosure or notification and a bar on employment at certain institutions. These orders sit alongside the sentence itself and affect daily life considerably, so their scope and duration should be addressed in the sentencing stage as well.

A non-prosecution decision is made by the prosecutor, who closes the case without bringing it to court, so no trial takes place. An acquittal is a court’s finding, after a trial, that the charge has not been proven. Both mean no criminal punishment, but they arise at different stages of the process and their effects are not identical.

The best moment is before the investigating authority summons you or executes a search, and the next best is before your first police interview. These cases are often shaped by the first statement and the evidence gathered early, so instructing an attorney only after the file reaches the prosecutor, or after charges are brought, means working against a record that has already taken shape.

Yes. A notice of appeal has to be filed within seven days of the judgment being served, and you may replace or add an attorney at that point. On appeal you can challenge the findings of fact and the application of the law, and also argue that the sentence is too severe, so the grounds of appeal are worth drafting with care.