When you have been harmed and want to file a criminal complaint

Gather evidence before writing the complaint. A lot of material gets deleted or disappears once the other party notices. Do not alter or edit what you collect; keep it in its original state.

• Save conversations as screenshots and also as chat export files. Keep the other party's profile and account information too.
• If you transferred money, download the transaction history as a PDF from your banking app. Keep original contracts, receipts and IOUs separately.
• If you were injured, see a doctor right away to get a medical certificate and records, and take photos of the injuries with the date visible.
• CCTV at the scene is usually deleted within two weeks to a month. Ask the shop or building management office to keep it, and if that is difficult, report right away and ask the police to secure it.
• Write down when, where, who, what and how, in date order.

Do not exaggerate beyond the facts out of anger. If even part of it is untrue, the whole complaint becomes hard to believe, and filing a complaint based on false facts can be the crime of false accusation.

Do not go to confront the other party or post their real name online. You could face a counter-complaint for something else, such as defamation. Secretly opening the other party's phone to gather evidence is also a problem.

From October 2, 2026, a criminal complaint (고소) is made to a judicial police officer, in writing or orally (Criminal Procedure Act (형사소송법) Article 237). With the Prosecutors' Office (검찰청) abolished and the Public Prosecution Service (공소청) created, the police are now the place that receives complaints. You usually submit it at the public service desk of the police station with jurisdiction over the other party's address or the place where the incident happened, and get a receipt.

The complaint (고소장) should include the other party's personal details (as much as you know), the facts you want punished and a list of evidence showing those facts. Write it briefly and in time order so the investigator can understand what happened after one read. Leave out emotions and guesses; putting the number of the supporting evidence next to each fact makes it easy to read. Attach copies of the evidence and bring the originals to show at the complainant interview.

The police must finish the investigation and decide whether to refer the case to prosecutors within 3 months of accepting the complaint (Criminal Procedure Act Article 238, for cases accepted on or after October 2, 2026). In the meantime, you will be contacted for a complainant interview. They will ask again about what you wrote and hear your response to the other party's claims. Before the interview, reread your complaint and make sure you do not state dates and amounts differently from it.

If more than 6 months pass after the investigation starts without real progress and without good reason, you can raise an objection with the head of the investigating office. Within 14 days, they must tell you what action they will take, such as changing the investigator or presenting an investigation plan, and if no action is taken or you disagree, you can ask a higher office to review it within 14 days (Article 245-11).

If the police decide not to refer the case (불송치), they must notify you in writing of that decision and the reasons within 7 days, sending the decision together with information and a form for objecting (Article 245-6). If you were notified on or after October 2, 2026, an objection must be filed within 3 months of receiving the notice (Article 245-7(3)), and once you file, the case is referred to the prosecutor. In the objection, rather than saying you feel wronged, go through the reasons for non-referral in the decision and point out one by one where they are wrong, and submit any new evidence with it.

To rebut the reasons for non-referral, you need to see the record. You can apply to inspect and copy the investigation record for the purpose of objecting, and it is in principle allowed if found necessary (Article 245-12). After the case is referred, you can also request a meeting with the prosecutor to give your views (Article 245-13(2)). If the prosecutor decides not to indict, you can appeal to the head of the Regional Public Prosecution Office within 30 days of receiving the notice (Public Prosecution Service Act (공소청법) Article 57).

Before filing, we first examine whether it amounts to a crime. A complaint that does not meet the requirements only wastes time and can turn into a counter-complaint, so we screen for this at this stage. We write the complaint, attach the list of evidence and file it, and go with you to the complainant interview.

If you have received a non-referral notice, we first check the deadline and prepare the objection and record access. Organise the notice and your evidence and contact us through the chat on this page.