When a suspended sentence comes with probation, community service or a mandatory course

• Confirm the date the judgment became final. It becomes final if neither the prosecutor nor the defendant appeals within 7 days of sentencing.
• Within 10 days of that date, go in person to the probation office with jurisdiction over your home and report your residence, job and plans in writing (Enforcement Decree of the Probation and Parole Act (보호관찰 등에 관한 법률 시행령) Articles 16 and 39).
• Check the order in the judgment for the suspension period, probation period and the hours of community service or the course, and write them down.
• If you work, the schedule may clash with your job, so be ready to discuss scheduling with the probation office.
• When you go to report, bring a copy of the judgment and your ID, and your work schedule if you have one.

Probation (보호관찰) means being guided and supervised by a probation officer during the suspension period. The court may also set a separate period within the suspension period (Criminal Act (형법) Article 62-2(2)). You must stay at your residence and work, respond when the probation officer calls you in or visits, and report in advance if you move or travel at home or abroad for a month or more (Probation and Parole Act (보호관찰 등에 관한 법률) Article 32(2)).

Community service (사회봉사) means doing unpaid work for the public good for the number of hours set by the court, and a mandatory course order (수강명령) means attending education for a set number of hours. The court sets community service at up to 500 hours and courses at up to 200 hours (same Act, Article 59). Both must be completed within the suspension period (Criminal Act Article 62-2(3)).

Course orders are often attached in cases where education to prevent reoffending is needed, such as drunk driving, sex offenses and domestic violence. You must attend the course on the schedule set by the probation office, and any hours you miss must be made up.

Depending on the offense, the court can attach additional conditions such as a night-time curfew, a ban on entering certain places, a ban on approaching the victim, a ban on drinking more than a certain amount, or efforts to repair the harm (same Act, Article 32(3)). You receive these in writing at sentencing, so keep them safe.

If a ban on approaching the victim has been attached, even contacting the victim to talk about a settlement can be a breach. If contact is truly necessary, go through a lawyer.

If you breach a condition, the head of the probation office can first urge you to comply and give a warning (Article 38), and if you do not answer a summons or are likely to flee, you can be brought in under a judge's warrant to appear, requested by the prosecutor (Article 39).

If the breach is serious, the court can revoke the suspended sentence (Criminal Act Article 64(2)); revocation is requested by the prosecutor on application from the head of the probation office (Probation and Parole Act Article 47). If it is revoked, you actually serve the prison sentence that had been suspended. Missing community service sessions a few times can lead this far, so if something comes up, tell your probation officer in advance.

If the suspension period passes without the suspended sentence lapsing or being revoked, the sentence loses its effect (Criminal Act Article 65). Conversely, if during the suspension period you are finally sentenced to actual imprisonment with or without labor for a crime committed intentionally, the suspended sentence lapses (Article 63). During the suspension period, take care not to get caught up in even minor incidents.

We read the order in the judgment and the special conditions with you and set out what you must do and by when. If revocation of the suspended sentence has been requested because of a breach, Jisan Law submits a written opinion explaining how the breach happened and your efforts to comply since, and attends the hearing.