Core holding (Supreme Court):

The Korean government can seek reimbursement (recourse) for medical expenses it paid to treat an inmate’s injuries caused by the inmate’s intentional self-harm or gross negligence, even if the inmate was released and later re-detained before the treatment was completed.


Case details

Court / date: Supreme Court (Civil Division 1), Dec. 11, 2025

Case No.: 2025Da215041

Disposition: The Supreme Court reversed the lower court ruling on the recourse-cost issue and remanded the case to the Suwon District Court.


What happened:

A was imprisoned from 2012.

In Jan 2022, while detained at Daegu Prison, A self-harmed.

A was released in July 2022 after completing the sentence.

In Oct 2022, A was arrested again (for special intimidation) and entered Suwon Detention Center.

Through Feb 2023, A received surgery and outpatient care related to the earlier self-harm.

The government paid about KRW 35.35 million in treatment costs and sued A to recover that amount.


Lower courts’ view (1st and 2nd instance):

They relied on Article 37(5) of the Act on the Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Prisoners (형집행법).

Their interpretation: the State can charge an inmate for outside medical costs only if:

the person is an inmate at the time of injury, and

the person remains an inmate at the time of treatment.


Because A was released after the self-harm and only later re-detained, the lower courts said the rule didn’t apply, so the State lost.


Supreme Court’s reasoning:

The Court rejected the idea that inmate status must be continuous across both the injury and treatment periods.

Key point: Article 37(5) is meant to create an exception where public funds can be recouped when the injury resulted from the inmate’s intentional act or gross negligence.

Therefore, it is not necessary that the self-harm and the medical treatment occur during the same uninterrupted detention or while detained for the same reason.


Why this matters:

This expands the State’s recourse reach: inmates can’t avoid reimbursement simply because their custody status temporarily changed between the injury and later treatment.

Expect this to strengthen correctional authorities’ leverage when medical costs arise from self-inflicted injuries.


What happens next:

The case goes back to the Suwon District Court, which must re-decide the recourse claim using the Supreme Court’s legal standard.

Article: https://www.lawtimes.co.kr/Case-curation/215037