I won a judgment in the US against a Korean man who went back to Korea — can I collect it there?

Korea enforces US judgments, and you do not re-litigate the loan. What you file in Korea is an enforcement action asking a Korean court to grant an execution judgment on your US judgment — a proceeding that examines whether the US judgment meets Korea's recognition requirements, not whether he owed you the money. That is the "recognition" the second firm described, and it is the correct route. On timing: an uncontested enforcement action is measured in months; a contested one in a year or so, still far short of retrying the case. And yes, Korea has asset-search and freezing procedures you can use, and the freeze can go on before he knows the enforcement action exists.

What this is under Korean law

Recognition of a foreign judgment is governed by Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법, minsa sosong-beop). A foreign judgment is recognized where the foreign court had international jurisdiction under Korean standards; the defendant was lawfully served or appeared and defended; the judgment is not contrary to Korean public policy; and there is reciprocity — that is, the foreign country would recognize a comparable Korean judgment. Korean courts have found reciprocity with US states in numerous cases. Your facts are strong on every limb: he lived in the state, was served, appeared with counsel, and lost on the merits.

Enforcement then follows Article 26 of the Civil Execution Act (민사집행법, minsa jipaeng-beop): you file for an execution judgment (집행판결, jipaeng pangyeol) in the Korean court with jurisdiction over his residence. The Korean court does not review the merits (Article 27). If the requirements are met, it issues a judgment declaring your US judgment enforceable in Korea, and from there you proceed against his assets like any Korean judgment creditor.

One point on damages: Korean courts can decline to recognize the portion of a foreign award that exceeds what Korean law would allow for compensatory purposes — this matters for punitive or multiple damages, not for a contract debt with interest.

What you need from the US side

A certified copy of the judgment; a certificate of finality or docket showing no pending appeal; proof of service or of his appearance — the docket and his lawyer's filings serve for this; the applicable post-judgment interest provision; and an apostille on each public document (the US and Korea are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention). Korean translations are prepared in Korea. A power of attorney (위임장, wiimjang), notarized and apostilled, lets Korean counsel act throughout without your presence.

Finding and freezing what he owns

Before filing, a provisional attachment (가압류, gaapnyu) can freeze the apartment and his bank accounts on a paper application showing your claim and the risk of dissipation — a debtor who already left one country to avoid a judgment makes that showing easy. Property ownership in Korea is a public register; the apartment can be confirmed and attached quickly. His company's registration is public as well, and his shareholding can be attached. Bank accounts are located after the execution judgment through a court-ordered asset disclosure (재산명시, jaesan myeongsi) and asset inquiry (재산조회, jaesan johoe) directed to financial institutions; a debtor who fails to disclose faces sanctions.

After the execution judgment, collection proceeds by compulsory auction of real property, garnishment of accounts and receivables, and, where he draws salary from his own company, garnishment of that.

Your situation as a foreign creditor

Nothing about your nationality affects your standing. The practical friction is documentary — apostilles and translations — and the currency: the Korean court will render the judgment enforceable in its original currency or a won equivalent, and interest is computed under the US judgment's terms up to the limits Korean law applies.

What to do now, and what not to do

Do not contact him; a debtor who is warned moves assets, and he has shown you he will. Do not sign anything from the US side that "settles" for a fraction before you know what he owns. Do: order the certified and apostilled documents now, since the US side is the slow part; authorize Korean counsel to run the property and company searches; and let the attachment go on before the enforcement action is served.

Practical insight

Creditors lose foreign-judgment cases in Korea in two ways: by treating "recognition" as a formality to be done after finding assets, when the freeze needs to precede everything; and by arriving with an uncertified judgment and no proof of service, then losing months to a second courier round. A judgment where the debtor appeared and lost is the easiest kind to enforce here; the apartment is the easiest kind of asset. This is a good case.

Send us the judgment and his name as it appears on any Korean document you have, and we will begin with the property search — by text consultation or at +82-2-522-3959.

— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, Civil Litigation Team