When you cannot afford to pay a fine

• In the judgment or summary order, find the amount of the fine and the wording "if the fine is not paid, you will be confined in a workhouse for a period calculated at a set amount per day."
• Work out when the 30-day period from the day it became final ends (Criminal Act (형법) Article 69(1)).
• Check whether the fine is 5 million won or less and whether it was imposed together with imprisonment. This decides whether you can apply for community service.
• Gather documents showing your financial situation, such as a certificate of benefit receipt, records of unemployment benefits or a medical certificate.

When imposing a fine, the court also sets the period of confinement in a workhouse (노역장 유치) if the fine is not paid (Criminal Act Article 70(1)). The period is between 1 day and 3 years (Article 69(2)), and for fines of 100 million won or more it must be at least 300 days, for 500 million won or more at least 500 days, and for 5 billion won or more at least 1,000 days (Article 70(2)).

If you pay even part of it, the days of confinement are reduced in proportion to the amount paid (Article 71). So even if you cannot pay it all at once, paying what you can first does not cost you anything. If you were held in custody before the judgment became final, those days may be credited against the fine, so check the order in the judgment as well.

You can apply to the execution department of the Public Prosecution Service (공소청) to pay in instalments or postpone payment. Those eligible include benefit recipients, some near-poverty households, people with disabilities, people receiving unemployment benefits, people with a decision to open individual rehabilitation, and people who themselves or whose household members need treatment for a month or more; the prosecutor decides whether to allow it (Public Prosecution Service Rules on the Execution of Property Penalties (재산형 등에 관한 공소청 집행사무규칙) Article 12). The period is up to 6 months and can be extended twice by 3 months each time.

Once allowed, if you miss two payments without good reason, the permission may be cancelled. Write the payment dates in your calendar, and if something comes up, tell the person in charge in advance.

If a fine of 5 million won or less has become final and you cannot afford to pay it, you can apply for community service (사회봉사) to the prosecutor at the District Public Prosecution Office with jurisdiction over your home within 30 days of the prosecutor's payment order, or, if you have permission to pay in instalments or postpone, within that permitted period (Act on Special Cases concerning Community Service for Persons Who Fail to Pay Fines (벌금미납자의 사회봉사 집행에 관한 특례법) Article 4). The prosecutor decides within 7 days of the application whether to request it from the court, and the court decides within 14 days of the request whether to allow it (Articles 5 and 6).

If allowed, the number of hours is set to match the remaining fine, and you must finish within 6 months of the day it was allowed. With special reasons, this can be extended once by 6 months (Article 11). As a rule, no more than 9 hours are carried out per day (Article 10), and you can also end it partway by paying the remaining fine (Article 12). If not allowed, you must pay the fine within 15 days of being notified, and if you do not, you will be confined in a workhouse (Article 6(5)).

If you have not paid 30 days after the fine became final, you will receive a reminder to pay, and if you still do not pay, enforcement steps toward workhouse confinement begin. If you avoid contact, you may be taken into custody on the spot when you encounter the police over something else. If money is tight, it is better to contact the execution department first and apply for instalments or community service than to hold out.

If the fine has not yet become final, we first look at whether there is room to dispute it through a request for a formal trial or an appeal. If it is already final, we decide which order of instalments, postponement and community service suits your situation and prepare the necessary documents with you. You can reach us first through the chat on this page for a consultation.