You may need a consultation if
- A phone you bought below market price on a secondhand app turned out to be stolen
- You run a used phone buying business and bought unopened phones purchased with a stolen card
- The police contacted you because items an acquaintance left with you were stolen
- You sold items a family member brought you on their behalf
- Jewelry your shop bought turned out to come from a fraud
Relevant Laws
Criminal Act (형법) Article 362 (Acquisition of Stolen Goods, Brokering, etc.)
Acquiring, transferring, transporting or keeping stolen goods, or brokering such acts, is punished by up to 7 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 15 million. If habitual, the punishment is 1 to 10 years' imprisonment (Article 363).
Criminal Act Article 364 (Occupational or Gross Negligence)
Acquiring stolen goods or similar acts through occupational negligence or gross negligence is punished by imprisonment without labor for up to 1 year or a fine of up to KRW 5 million.
Criminal Act Article 365 (Crimes Between Relatives)
If you are related to the victim, prosecution requires the victim's complaint. If you are the spouse, a lineal blood relative or a relative living together with the original offender who obtained the stolen goods, or the spouse of such a person, the sentence can be reduced or waived (amended December 31, 2025).
Statutes are summarized. The official Korean text is available at the Korea Law Information Center (law.go.kr).
Being aware enough to suspect is sufficient
You don't need to know for certain that the goods were stolen. Courts hold that awareness at the level of suspecting they might be stolen is enough, considering the seller's identity, the nature of the goods and the price and manner of the deal (Supreme Court Decision 2004도6084, October 13, 2006).
A price far below market, new products without a receipt or warranty, and seller accounts and deposit accounts that keep changing are unfavorable signs. If you paid the market price and checked the seller's identity, those records are your strongest materials.
If suspicion arose after you bought it
The same ruling holds that if you did not know when you received the item and only later came to suspect it was stolen, it is not the crime of acquiring stolen goods. However, reselling or moving it after you found out can create a separate problem, so if you become suspicious, it is safer to leave it as is and inform the investigators.
If buying is your business, the duty of care is heavier
In trades where stolen goods easily slip in, such as buying phones, precious metals or luxury goods, there is considered to be a duty of care to check how the goods were obtained and who the seller is. If you neglected to check, you can be punished for occupational negligence in acquiring stolen goods (업무상과실장물취득) even if you didn't know they were stolen.
If you routinely kept records of checking ID, a purchase ledger and market price lookups, those become materials showing there was no negligence.
Occupational negligence in acquiring stolen goods applies even if you did not know the goods were stolen, but its statutory penalty is much lighter. The outcome depends greatly on which crime you are charged with, so we first argue that there was no reason to suspect anything at the time of the deal.
Factors That Affect the Outcome and Sentence
Factors that work against you
- · Traded at a price far from market value
- · Repeatedly bought and resold
- · Did not check the seller's identity
- · A previous record for the same offense
Factors that work in your favor
- · Records showing you paid the market price
- · Records of checking the seller's ID and transaction history
- · Reported it and handed over the item as soon as you became suspicious
- · Returned the item to the victim
- · No criminal record
How Jisan Law's Criminal Law Center Responds
- 1
Consultation with the managing partner
We hear how you bought the item, the price and your relationship with the seller, and identify where awareness may be an issue.
- 2
Organizing transaction materials
We gather chats, transfer records, market price data and purchase ledgers to reconstruct the circumstances of the deal.
- 3
Mock questioning and sitting in
We practice in advance for questions about the price and the seller, and go into the questioning with you.
- 4
Submitting a written opinion
We submit a written opinion, with supporting materials, showing there was no reason for suspicion or that you fulfilled your duty of care.
Lawyers handling these cases
Hansol Kim Managing Partner
Former prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office
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Bonwoo Koo Managing Partner
Economic criminal cases such as Capital Markets Act violations, investment fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust
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Frequently asked questions
If I return the item, will I avoid punishment?
Returning it counts in your favor in the decision, but it does not by itself clear the allegation. Stolen goods crimes look at whether you had reason to suspect the goods were stolen at the time of the deal.
The seller was a friend, so I didn't suspect anything.
Knowing the seller can be a reason you didn't suspect, but if the item was expensive for your friend's circumstances or the explanation of where it came from was sketchy, it may count against you. Keep the chat records of how your friend explained it.
I sold items a family member brought me on their behalf.
There is a provision allowing the sentence to be reduced or waived if you are the spouse, a lineal blood relative or a relative living together with the person who obtained the stolen goods. However, a waiver is not automatic, and it does not apply to accomplices who are not family.