Investment scams in Korea promising “guaranteed profits” and/or “principal protection” continue to spread rapidly across online group chats and ”reading rooms.” Many victims in Korea and abroad are approached with too-good-to-be-true offers through KakaoTalk, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Naver Band. Recent Korean court rulings demonstrate that authorities in Korea are responding firmly to fraud and handing down significant prison sentences to those convicted by Korean courts. Recent Korean Court Holdings on Korean Crypto & Investment Scams Seoul Northern District Court (August 2024) (Case No. 2024godan3283)Four individuals were sentenced
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Korean Company CEO’s Criminal Liability for Workplace Safety under the Korean Occupational Safety & Health Act and Korean Serious Accidents Punishment Act
A recent judgment by the Changwon District Court in Korea (Case No. 2025Godan1381) highlights the increasing potential for criminal liability of CEOs and executives in Korea under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of Korea (OSHA) and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act of Korea (SAPA). On August 29, 2025, a Korean court sentenced the CEO of a painting company to one year in prison, suspended for two years, after a 46-year-old foreign worker fell to his death while repainting an apartment roof in Gimhae City, Korea. The
Continue readingKorean DUI Suspect Acquited of Drunk Driving: Korean Supreme Court Required Empirical Proof of Blood Alcohol Concentration Formula Calculation Inputs
The Supreme Court of Korea recently clarified the evidentiary threshold for proving Korean drunk driving when no direct blood or breath alcohol test is available. The ruling emphasizes that, in Korean DUI cases, the Widmark formula (an estimation method used to calculate blood alcohol concentration (BAC)) must only be applied where the underlying facts, including alcohol consumption and timing, are established through proof and not mere conjecture. The punishment for DUIs in Korea is strict and, in some cases, can lead to a jail sentence and deportation
Continue readingKorean Criminal Law & Korean Criminal Procedure Law: An Overview
Korea’s criminal justice system has undergone substantial evolution over the past few decades, becoming a system that affords more rights to the accused and empowers the police with increased investigative powers. For foreign companies and individuals facing investigations and prosecutions, understanding the basics of Korean criminal law and procedure is essential. IPG Legal has represented clients in high-stakes criminal matters in Korea, encompassing corporate compliance investigations, white-collar defense, and the prosecution of individuals. IPG Legal has earned over 70 not guilty verdicts for clients in Korean courts
Continue readingPresident Lee Proposes Major Changes to South Korean Prosecution and Budget Drafting Systems
On September 7, 2025, the President Lee Administration announced a plan to overhaul two of the country’s most powerful state functions: prosecution and budget drafting. The proposals, facially, seek to: (i) dismantle the existing prosecution service by splitting investigation and indictment into separate bodies, and (ii) remove budget-drafting authority from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) to a newly created independent budget agency. The Lee administration frames this reform as a combination of decentralization and modernization. The Lee Administration claims that this plan is better suited
Continue readingKorean Constitutional Court Upholds Two-Year License Disqualification for Repeat DUIs in Korea
In a significant decision in Korea addressing the balance between public safety and individual rights, the Constitutional Court of Korea has upheld the constitutionality of a provision in the Korean Road Traffic Act that imposes a two-year license disqualification for individuals convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) two or more times. Please see Defense Attorneys in Korea for an article on hiring a Korean Defense Lawyer, and please see IPG Legal’s Constitutional Law Archive and IPG’s Legal Criminal Law Archive. In June of 2025, the Constitutional
Continue readingCan You Be Extradited to South Korea from a Country with No Extradition Treaty with Korea?
An extradition to Korea or another jurisdiction is possible even from a country that has no extradition treaty with the respective country. The following case is an example of a case in which an extradition occurred between two nations that have not concluded an extradition treaty. IPG Legal is one of the only firms with experience handling extradition cases in Korea and abroad. We consult with and work with lawyers and clients worldwide on extradition cases concerning individuals being extradited to, among other countries, China, Korea, the
Continue readingProtecting Technology in Korea through Filing a Criminal Suit Against an IP Violator
The following case demonstrates that companies doing business in Korea can help protect intellectual property in Korea by aggressively defending intellectual property rights through Korean courts. For an article on pragmatic approaches to protecting your IP under Korean Law, please see: How to Protect Your Intellectual Property in Korea. The Korean Supreme Court upheld the sentence of the vice president of a SK Hynix partner company who leaked key SK Hynix core semiconductor technology and equipment drawings to a Chinese company. Supreme Court’s SK Hynix Trade Secret
Continue readingProtecting your Brand, Business & Reputation from Defamation in Korea
We, at IPG Legal, have clients with the need to defend their brands, business, and reputation in Korea from sometimes less than mentally stable individuals, trolls, and social media “warriors.” In some cases, the defaming party resides or resided in Korea and the defamatory information is decimated in non-Korean media channels and in others the defaming party is a Korean national engaged in defamation outside of the Republic of Korea (Korean law applies to Korean nationals, in most cases, for actions gloablly). We have, also, defended a
Continue readingIs it Crime in Korea to Record, Save, and Possess a Video Using the Video Call and Recording Function of a Mobile Phone?
The following is a translation from Korean to English of a post on a Naver Blog by Attorney Haenam Jung. Attorney Jung is a retired Korean judge working with IPG Legal who shares interesting issues on his Naver Blog on Korean Law. His blog is in Korean and we shall be sharing some of his posts and reposts on this blog over the next couple of months. The below is a computer translation of the Supreme Court’s Official Summary of the case that was edited by IPG
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