Private Rooms, Public Concern: Supreme Court Rules Room Cafes Are Off-Limits to Minors

A room cafe operator who allowed teenagers into his establishment — consisting of 16 private booths furnished with mattresses and pillows — has had his acquittal…

₩17 Million and a Smartwatch Camera: Soldier Who Sold Military Secrets to China Gets Four Years

A Korean Army sergeant who leaked classified military materials — including documents related to ROK-US combined exercises — to a Chinese intelligence operative over seven months…

Born in Korea but Invisible on Paper: Constitutional Court Rules Failure to Provide Birth Registration for Foreign Children Is Unconstitutional

In only the second ruling of its kind since the Constitutional Court was established, Korea’s Constitutional Court has found that the complete absence of legislation providing…

Drone Flew to North Korea, but Treason Charge Fails: Graduate Student Convicted Only of Aviation Law Violation

A graduate student who built drones and flew them across the military demarcation line into North Korean airspace on four occasions has been acquitted of general…

Twenty Years of Smoking Did Not Cause This Alone: Metal Worker’s Lung Cancer Death Recognized as Industrial Accident

A metal worker who spent over thirteen years cutting and grinding steel and aluminum in an unventilated underground workspace — and died of lung cancer —…

Knowing About the Verdict Is Not Enough: The Appeal Clock Starts Only When You Know It Was Served by Public Notice

A defendant who learned that judgment had been entered against him — but did not know the judgment had been served through public notice rather than…

Fake Stabbing Threat at Yatap Station Costs Poster ₩14.84 Million: Korea’s First Civil Judgment Against an Online Threat Maker

A man who posted a fake mass stabbing threat online — triggering the deployment of armored vehicles, special forces units, and 529 police officers over nearly…

Fell Out of a Golf Cart Drinking Water: No Caddie Fault, but the Golf Course Still Pays

A golfer who lost her balance and fell from a moving golf cart while drinking water has won damages against the golf course operator — even…

Military Employee Who Refused Superior’s Order Citing “Time to Go Home” Wins Reversal of Salary Reduction Penalty

Court and Division: Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 12 Presiding Judge: Kang Jae-won Case Type: Action to revoke disciplinary action Decision: Plaintiff’s claim upheld Factual Background…

Drug Club Investigation Gone Too Far: Supreme Court Confirms Charges Thrown Out for Unlawful Prosecutorial Investigation

Two members of a Seoul university drug ring — including a licensed physician — have had their narcotics convictions permanently overturned because the prosecutor who charged…

Nippon Steel Ordered to Pay ₩80 Million to Forced Labor Victim’s Family: Supreme Court Confirms

Korea’s Supreme Court has confirmed a damages award against Nippon Steel Corporation in favor of the bereaved family of a wartime forced labor victim — and…

A Deathbed Confession Leads to a ₩30 Million Verdict: Wife Sues Late Husband’s Affair Partner

A woman whose husband confessed to a seven-year affair on his deathbed has won a civil damages claim against his affair partner — a woman who…

Burned by Hot Ginger Tea, But the Cafe Doesn’t Have to Pay: Court Rules Accident Alone Doesn’t Prove Negligence

A customer who suffered second-degree burns after hot ginger tea spilled from a disposable cup has lost her damages claim against the café — with the…

The Fear of Being Exposed Is Harm Enough: Courts Award Damages for Deepfake Creation Even Without Distribution

Two Korean civil courts have now ruled that a victim of deepfake sexual imagery is entitled to compensation for psychological suffering caused by the existence of…

“She’s on Medication for Depression”: Professor Criminally Fined for Disclosing Student’s Mental Health Treatment

A university professor who told another student that his advisee was receiving treatment for depression has been convicted of defamation — with the court finding that…

Landlord Who Knew His Motel Was Used for Prostitution Must Forfeit All Rent Collected, Supreme Court Rules

A building owner who continued renting his motel to a tenant he knew was running a prostitution operation cannot keep the rent he received during that…

Drowned While Horsing Around Without a Life Jacket—Facility Held 25% Liable

Factual Background A, a 27-year-old male gym trainer in Daegu, went with coworkers to a wakeboarding facility in July 2021 around 10 a.m. At the dock,…

No Crime in Saying Your Pilots Are Better: Asiana Union Head Cleared of Defamation

Police have cleared the head of Asiana Airlines’ pilot union of defamation charges brought by Korean Air pilots — finding insufficient evidence that he committed an…

Supreme Court: Using Lawfully Obtained Personal Information in a Civil Complaint Can Be Justified Conduct

Court: Supreme Court, Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Justice Park Young-jae) Case No.: 2026Do171 Decision Date: May 14, 2026 Factual Background The defendant, A, was the director…

₩33.8 Billion Investment Cannot Buy Entry: Court Rules Economic Contribution Cannot Override Public Safety in Immigration Decisions

A foreign national who purchased land worth over ₩33.8 billion for a major tourism development project in Jeju has been denied entry to Korea — and…

Korea’s Blanket Ban on Criminal Contingency Fees Is Making Things Worse, Not Better: Another Lower Court Pushes Back

A third lower court has now openly challenged the Supreme Court’s 2015 en banc ruling that made criminal success fees categorically void — finding that the…

Dog Bite Leaves Facial Scars on Woman in Her Twenties — Insurer Ordered to Pay Full ₩100 Million Policy Limit

A Korean court has ordered an insurer to pay the full policy limit of ₩100 million to a woman whose face was bitten by a large…

Freelancer in Name Only: Supreme Court Rules Two-Year Threshold Triggers Equal Pay Standards

A producer who worked for a regional broadcaster for eleven years under successive “freelance” contracts has won a landmark ruling — the Supreme Court holding that…

Years of Caregiving, Not Just a Gift: Supreme Court Rules Long-Term Support Can Shield Inheritance from Forced Share Claims

Korea’s Supreme Court has confirmed that property received by an heir as compensation for long-term caregiving of a deceased parent can be excluded from the calculations…

Korea’s Top Math Tutor Acquitted: Paying Teachers for Exam Questions Was Private Commerce, Not a Bribe

Hyun Woo-jin, one of Korea’s most prominent private tutoring instructors, has been acquitted at trial of charges that he illegally paid active teachers for mathematics exam…

Once Given, Gone Forever: Constitutional Court Upholds Ban on Revoking Completed Gifts Even for Ungrateful Children

Korea’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a parent who transfers property to a child cannot later revoke that gift — even if the child subsequently fails…

Seven Years Minimum for Military Sexual Assault Causing Injury: Constitutional Court Says That’s Justified

Korea’s Constitutional Court has for the first time ruled on whether the Military Criminal Act’s mandatory minimum of seven years for sexual assault causing injury within…

Hurt Feelings Are Not Enough: Supreme Court Again Narrows the Scope of Criminal Insult

In its second significant ruling on criminal insult in as many months, the Supreme Court has reversed a conviction for profanity exchanged during a noise dispute,…

Cursing at Your Commander in Front of Subordinates Is Not Enough: Supreme Court Overturns 26-Year Precedent on Military ‘Insult of Superior Officers’

Korea’s Supreme Court, sitting en banc, has significantly narrowed the reach of the military criminal offense of insulting a superior officer — ruling for the first…

Ghost-Written Research for College Admissions Is Obstruction of Official Duties, Supreme Court Confirms

A pharmacy professor who directed graduate students to conduct experiments and write research reports for his child’s university applications — and the child who submitted that…

Supreme Court: Merely Carrying a Weapon Is Not Enough to Convict Under the “Habitual Offender Risk” Provision

Factual Background In July 2024, the defendant, A, was assaulted and injured by another individual, B, and afterward walked around the area carrying a weapon. Prosecutors…

Korea’s D-9 Visa (in a Nutshell)

The D-9 Visa: Starting a Business After Graduation Without Setting Up a Corporation The Problem Who Can Apply — 4 Pathways D-9-1 (Trading Business): D-9-4 (High…