In a Busan criminal case, early action changes the outcome

Most people first learn of it when the investigator asks them to appear. The request should in principle be a written summons, but it can also come by phone or text message (General Investigative Rules, Article 19(3)), and the case lookup screen may not show the case right away depending on intake and assignment status, so a failed lookup alone does not mean you are not a suspect. If you were told a complaint is coming, do not delete related messages or transaction records; keep them.

It can. A witness is a person who is not a suspect and is asked to give a statement (Criminal Procedure Act, Article 221), and if a suspicion comes to light after the interview, the person may be converted to a suspect. Before questioning a suspect, the police must tell you that you may refuse to make statements (Article 244-3), so whether you received that notice shows whether your status has changed. Before the interview, it helps to lay out your relationship to the case in date order.

It is not too late, and the time before the first questioning is when defense counsel has the most to do. Before the questioning we organize the allegations and facts and set the direction of your statement, apply for counsel to attend and go in with you (Criminal Procedure Act, Article 243-2), and afterward read the record and ask for corrections where it differs from what you said (Article 244). Even if you have already been questioned once, a written opinion can be filed before the case is sent to the prosecutor.

Yes. The prosecutor is required to decide whether to indict within 3 months of receiving a complaint case (Criminal Procedure Act, Article 257), and in that time the suspect can submit a written opinion, a settlement agreement and damage recovery materials to the prosecutor in charge. If you contest the charge, we supplement in writing the facts that were left thin at the police questioning; if you admit it, we gather sentencing materials so they are considered in the decision.

It is decided by where the crime took place and where the defendant lives (Criminal Procedure Act, Article 4). Under the jurisdiction published by the Busan District Court, the main court covers Jung-gu, Dong-gu, Yeongdo-gu, Busanjin-gu, Dongnae-gu, Yeonje-gu and Geumjeong-gu; the East Branch covers Haeundae-gu, Nam-gu, Suyeong-gu and Gijang-gun; and the West Branch covers Seo-gu, Buk-gu, Sasang-gu, Saha-gu and Gangseo-gu. Yulmaru has the Seomyeon Office near the main court, the Centum Office near the East Branch and the Myeongji Office near the West Branch, so check the court named on the indictment and visit the office closest to it.

No. To use the word specialist, a lawyer must register that field with the Korean Bar Association, and advertising a specialty in a field that is not registered is prohibited (Attorney-at-Law Act, Article 23; KBA Regulations on Attorney Advertising). If a lawyer presents themselves as a criminal law specialist in Busan, you can check whether the Criminal Law field is registered in the KBA's specialty registration records.