When the police ask you to appear for questioning

There is not much to do on the day you are contacted. If you simply write down and gather the items below, in this order, you are halfway prepared for the questioning.

• Write down the case number, the department, the investigator's name and contact number. If the call came from an unfamiliar number, call the police station's main number back to confirm it is genuine.
• Ask what the allegation is and whether you are a suspect or a witness. The summons (출석요구서) must state the gist of the alleged facts (Investigation Rules (수사준칙) Article 19(3)).
• Write what you remember on one page, in date order. Focus on dates and times, places, who was there and any money that changed hands.
• Do not delete messages, call logs, transfer records or photos; save copies separately. CCTV at shops and car parks is usually overwritten within two weeks to a month, so if you need it, ask right away for it to be kept.
• If the questioning date is too soon, call the investigator and set a new date.

When an investigator asks about the case over the phone, it is tempting to explain, even briefly. Phone conversations can also end up in an investigation report, so you can simply say you will explain in detail when you come in, and just agree on a date.

Do not contact the other party or anyone involved to get your stories straight. It can look like an attempt to destroy evidence. For the same reason, avoid changing your phone or leaving chat rooms.

The investigator must agree the date, time and place of questioning with the suspect, and also with the suspect's lawyer if there is one. If the suspect asks for a postponement, the rules say the schedule should be adjusted unless there are special circumstances (Investigation Rules Article 19). If you changed the date by phone, ask for the new date to be confirmed by text as well.

However, if you keep failing to appear without a valid reason, an arrest warrant (체포영장) may be requested (Criminal Procedure Act (형사소송법) Article 200-2). If you need a postponement, give your reason in advance and offer two or three dates that work for you.

Before questioning, the investigator must tell you that you may refuse to make statements, that refusing will not be held against you, that anything you do say may be used as evidence of guilt in court, and that you have the right to a lawyer's assistance (Criminal Procedure Act Article 244-3).

Your lawyer can take part in the questioning, sit next to you and take notes, and can object to improper questioning methods even while questioning is under way (Criminal Procedure Act Article 243-2; Investigation Rules Articles 13 and 14).

• As a rule, there is no questioning between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. (Investigation Rules Article 21)
• Total time, including waiting, breaks and meals, must not exceed 12 hours (Investigation Rules Article 22)
• Actual questioning time, excluding meals, breaks and reviewing the record, must not exceed 8 hours unless there are special circumstances
• You cannot be questioned again until 8 hours have passed since the previous questioning ended

You sign the suspect interrogation record (피의자신문조서) after reading it or having it read to you. If something was not written as you said it, or is not true, you can ask for it to be corrected or state your view, and the investigator must add that to the record (Criminal Procedure Act Article 244).

Do not skim through it because you are tired. The wording in the record is read as it stands when deciding whether to refer the case to prosecutors and whether to indict, and again at trial. In particular, check that times, amounts and expressions about what you knew, such as "I was aware," match what you actually said.

Points you could not fully explain during questioning, or materials you found later, can be submitted with a written opinion. To be taken into account, they must be submitted before the police decide whether to refer the case to prosecutors (송치). You can apply to inspect and copy the record of your own statement (Investigation Rules Article 69(1)).

If the case started with a criminal complaint (고소), the police must decide whether to refer it within 3 months from the day they accepted the complaint (Criminal Procedure Act Article 238). You may be contacted for further questioning, so write down the questions you were asked and your answers as well as you remember them.

A managing partner consults with you in person and reviews the summons and the materials you have. We draw up likely questions and practise the interview with you, go into the interview room with you, and raise objections on the spot to leading or improper questions. After the questioning, we submit a defense counsel's written opinion.

If a questioning date has already been set, tell us the date and the police station through the chat on this page.