How long does a criminal record last?

• Confirm what outcome you received. The type of record and how long it lasts differ for a fine, imprisonment, a suspended sentence, a suspended sentencing and a suspension of indictment.
• For a fine, note the date you finished paying; for imprisonment, the date you finished serving. The expiry period is counted from that date.
• Check separately whether your job or professional qualifications have a disqualification period. It follows different rules from the expiry of a sentence.

Sentences of a fine or heavier, suspended sentencing (선고유예), probation, and community service or course orders imposed with a sentence are kept as criminal history records (범죄경력자료), which is what people usually mean by a criminal record (Act on the Lapse of Criminal Sentences (형의 실효 등에 관한 법률) Article 2(v) and (vii)). Other investigation history, such as non-referral or non-indictment decisions, is managed separately as investigation history records (수사경력자료) (same article, (vi)).

Once a sentence is final, it is also entered in the register of convicted persons (수형인명부) kept by the Public Prosecution Service (공소청) and in the convicted person card (수형인명표) kept by the city, district, town or township office of your place of family registration. However, only sentences of suspension of qualifications or heavier go on the register of convicted persons, so a fine remains only in the criminal history records.

Cases that did not go to trial, such as a suspension of indictment (기소유예) or non-referral for no suspicion, are not a criminal record; they remain as investigation history records and are deleted once the retention period set according to the statutory penalty has passed (same Act, Article 8-2).

If you do not receive another sentence of suspension of qualifications or heavier, a sentence expires (실효) after 10 years for imprisonment, with or without labor, of more than 3 years, 5 years for imprisonment of 3 years or less, and 2 years for a fine, counted from the day the sentence was fully served or remitted (same Act, Article 7(1)). Short detention and petty fines expire as soon as they are served.

For a suspended sentence (집행유예), if the suspension period passes without it lapsing or being revoked, the sentence loses its effect (Criminal Act (형법) Article 65), and a suspended sentencing is treated as an acquittal on procedural grounds (면소) once 2 years have passed (Article 60). A person who has served a prison sentence, compensated the victim and not received a sentence of suspension of qualifications or heavier for 7 years can also apply to the court for a declaration that the sentence has expired (Article 81).

If you paid a fine in instalments, the date you made the final payment is the date the sentence was served; if you were confined in a workhouse, it is the date confinement ended.

Once a sentence expires, the relevant entry in the register of convicted persons is deleted and the convicted person card is destroyed (Act on the Lapse of Criminal Sentences Article 8). When you request your own criminal record certificate, expired sentences, suspended sentencings treated as acquittals, and suspended sentences that have lost effect are left off unless you specifically ask for them (Enforcement Decree of the same Act, Article 7-2(2)).

That does not mean the record is completely erased from the Korean National Police Agency's data. It can be checked where there is a purpose set by law, such as an investigation or trial (same Act, Article 6(1)). On the other hand, ordinary companies cannot check criminal history without a legal basis, and no one may obtain this data for anything other than the purposes set out (same article, (3)).

The expiry of a sentence and disqualification periods for jobs are separate. For example, a person cannot be appointed as a national public official until 5 years have passed since finishing an actual sentence of imprisonment without labor or heavier, or 2 years since the end of the suspension period of a suspended sentence of imprisonment without labor or heavier (State Public Officials Act (국가공무원법) Article 33). If your job requires a licence or permit, first check the disqualification provisions in the relevant law.

If you are worried about your record, it is better to get advice before the outcome is decided. Even for the same incident, the record left behind and the impact on your job differ depending on whether the case ends in a suspension of indictment, a fine or a suspended sentence. From the investigation stage, we raise these circumstances in our written opinions.