Q
I'm American, visiting Korea for three weeks. This is a "before it happens" question, prompted by a friend's experience last year: he was detained after a dispute, questioned for hours through an officer's phone app, signed a Korean document he couldn't read, and never saw anyone from the embassy. He was released, but the whole thing frightened both of us.
I'd like to know what the rules actually are, so that if I or someone I'm travelling with ends up at a Korean police station, we know what to ask for and what to decline. Specifically: (1) Am I entitled to a real interpreter, and can I refuse to answer questions until one arrives? (2) Do the police have to contact my embassy, and what does the embassy actually do? (3) Do I have a right to a lawyer before questioning, and what happens if I can't afford one? And — the thing my friend didn't know — do I have to sign what they put in front of me?
A Answer
You are entitled to an interpreter, to have your consulate notified, and to a lawyer — including one present during questioning — and you are not required to sign a statement you cannot read. Those rights exist in Korean law and in a treaty the US and Korea are both bound by; what your friend experienced was the gap between the rights existing and someone asserting them. The practical version of this answer is short: ask for an interpreter, ask for the consulate to be notified, ask for a lawyer, and sign nothing until the first and the third have happened.
Your rights under Korean law
The Criminal Procedure Act (형사소송법, hyeongsa sosong-beop) gives every suspect the right to counsel at every stage, including during police questioning (Article 243-2), and requires the police to inform an arrested person of the reason for arrest, the right to counsel and the right to remain silent (Article 200-5). A suspect may refuse to answer any question. Statements taken in violation of those rights are subject to exclusion at trial.
Interpretation: Article 180 requires an interpreter for court proceedings where a party does not understand Korean, and police investigation rules require a qualified interpreter for the questioning of a foreign suspect. An officer's translation app is not a qualified interpreter. You may state, once, that you will not answer questions until an interpreter is present; that is a lawful position and it is one investigators respect once it is stated clearly.
Signing: a suspect's written statement (피의자신문조서, piuija sinmun joseo) is read back and the suspect confirms it before signing; a foreign suspect is entitled to have it interpreted before confirmation. You may decline to sign, and you may request corrections. A statement signed without understanding it is challengeable — but challenging it later is far harder than not signing it now. Ask for the interpreted read-back; if it is not provided, do not sign.
Consular notification
Under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which Korea and the US are parties, the authorities must inform a detained foreign national without delay of the right to have the consulate notified, and must notify the consulate if the detainee so requests; consular officers may visit and communicate with the detainee. Korean police practice implements this by asking the detainee whether notification is wanted; if not asked, ask. The consulate can visit, confirm your treatment, provide a list of lawyers, contact family, and monitor the case; it does not provide legal representation, intervene in the investigation, or secure release. It is a witness and a channel, not counsel.
Counsel
You may appoint any lawyer at any time; for a detained suspect, family members may appoint one independently under Article 30. A retained lawyer can visit you in detention without the limits on family visits, attend questioning, and communicate with the investigator. If you cannot afford one, court-appointed counsel is provided for the detention warrant hearing and for trial where the law requires it; it is not automatically provided for the initial police questioning of a non-detained suspect, which is exactly the stage where your friend needed it. The interval between arrest and the warrant hearing — up to 48 hours — is the period in which retained counsel matters most and public counsel is least available.
What this means for a visitor
None of the above depends on visa status; a tourist has the same rights as a resident. What differs for a visitor is the departure question: a person under investigation may be placed under a departure suspension, and a visitor who leaves with a case open may find it waiting at the next entry. Those are the matters MEGA X handles when a case exists; this answer is for the moment before one does.
What to do, and what not to do
Say, calmly, in English: interpreter; consulate; lawyer. Repeat as needed. Do not physically resist, argue, or attempt to explain the situation through an app; do not consent to a search of your phone or a drug test without advice — both require a warrant or your consent, and your consent is yours to withhold. Do not sign. Keep the name of a Korean law firm in your phone before you need it; the friend who could have told you which one to call is the difference between an hour and a night.
From a former police investigator's perspective
Investigators do not resent a foreign suspect who asks for an interpreter and a lawyer; they expect it, and the ones who have handled foreign cases know that a statement taken without both is a statement that will be attacked later. What creates the four-hour app interview is a suspect who does not ask. The rights are not secret; they are simply not volunteered in a language you understand, and the moment to invoke them is before the first question, not after the last.
If a situation arises during your trip, +82-2-522-3959 or the text consultation form reaches us; keep the number.
— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, Criminal Defense Team
Need personalized legal help?
This answer is general information. Book a consultation to discuss your specific case with a MEGA X attorney.
Request a consultation