How to apply for a compensation order in a criminal trial

• Check whether the offender has been indicted and a trial has begun. You cannot apply for a compensation order at the police or Public Prosecution Service (공소청) stage.
• Check the case number, the court division and the next hearing date. The prosecutor may also send you a notice that you can apply for compensation (Act on Special Cases concerning Expedition of Legal Proceedings (소송촉진 등에 관한 특례법) Article 25-2).
• Check whether you have already filed a civil lawsuit for the same loss that is still ongoing. If so, you cannot apply for compensation (Article 26(7)).
• Gather transfer records, receipts, medical certificates and medical bills showing the amount of your loss.

When giving a guilty verdict for offenses such as bodily injury, aggravated bodily injury, assault causing injury, negligent injury, rape or indecent assault, theft or robbery, fraud or extortion, embezzlement or breach of trust, and property damage, the court can order compensation on the victim's application or on its own initiative. Certain offenses under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act and the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses are also included (Article 25(1)). Compensation covers direct material losses caused by the crime, medical costs and compensation for emotional distress (위자료).

Even for offenses not on the list, such as simple assault or threats, if the defendant and the victim have agreed on an amount of damages, the court can order compensation for that agreed amount (same article, (2)).

Even if the case was indicted together with other crimes, you can apply for the part of the loss caused by an offense eligible for a compensation order.

Apply to the court handling the case before the hearings at first or second instance close. No stamp fee is attached to the application (Article 26(1)). State the case number, the names and addresses of the applicant and the defendant, what is to be compensated and the amount claimed, and submit as many copies as there are defendants. If you appear in court as a witness, you can also apply orally there and then (same article, (5)).

When the copy of the application is served on the defendant, the court can hide the applicant's name and address, so if you are worried about your address being revealed, ask for this too (Article 28). Since you cannot know when the hearings will close, it is safer to apply around the first hearing.

Break the amount claimed down by item and attach the supporting evidence. For fraud, attach a calculation of the money you sent minus any money returned, with the transfer records; for bodily injury, attach the medical certificate, receipts for medical costs and materials showing the period you could not work. This makes it easier for the court to determine the amount.

No compensation order is made when the victim's name or address is unclear, the amount of loss cannot be determined, it is not clear whether or to what extent the defendant is liable, or the compensation order would significantly delay the trial (Article 25(3)). This is why applications are often dismissed in cases with several accomplices whose share of responsibility differs.

If an application is dismissed or only partly granted, the applicant cannot challenge it or make the same application again (Article 32(4)). Instead, you can bring a separate civil lawsuit. Once a compensation order (배상명령) becomes final, it can be enforced like a civil judgment (Article 34(1)), and you cannot claim the same amount again through other proceedings within the amount granted (same article, (2)).

A compensation order can be declared provisionally enforceable (Article 31(3)); if so, you can start enforcement even before it becomes final.

Jisan Law matches the amount of your loss against the evidence item by item, and writes and files the compensation application with the court. If the case is likely to be dismissed, we prepare civil proceedings alongside from the start. If the offender's side proposes a settlement, we negotiate the amount and terms on the victim's behalf, and also consider how to include the agreed amount in a compensation order.