Victim of a Crime in Korea as a Foreigner? 112, Interpreters, Embassy & Your Rights

Hello, I am Heejun Lee, a Korean attorney at Yeoam Law Firm in Seoul.

In an earlier post I explained your rights when you are questioned by the Korean police. This time I look at the other side: what to do when you, as a foreigner, become the victim of a crime in Korea. The scenario below is a fictional composite of several consultations.

“Late at night outside a bar, a stranger punched me, and in the chaos my phone and wallet disappeared. The police came, but I barely speak Korean and couldn’t explain what happened. I’m supposed to leave Korea next month. I don’t know how to follow up on the report, whether I should call my embassy, or whether this could affect my visa.”

In Korea, foreigners have the same right as Korean nationals to report a crime, ask for the offender to be punished and seek compensation. The problem is that, faced with an unfamiliar language and system, many foreign victims lose their best chance at the very start, when the report is made and the evidence is still fresh. This guide walks you through each step, from the first minutes after the crime to the trial and after you leave Korea.

Key takeaways

Emergencies: 112 (police) and 119 (ambulance/fire). 112 connects you to English- and Chinese-speaking police interpreters 24/7.
Secure evidence right away: medical certificate, photos, messages, receipts. CCTV footage is often kept only for a short time.
You can ask for an interpreter and a trusted person to sit with you when you give your statement. Always get the case number and the investigator’s name.
Your embassy will not investigate, but it can contact your family, issue an emergency passport and give you lists of lawyers and interpreters.
Victim support centres (1577-1295), Sunflower Centers (1899-3075) and compensation orders in criminal trials are open to foreign victims.
Even after you leave Korea, a Korean lawyer can follow the investigation, trial, settlement and compensation claims for you.

1. Get safe, then call 112 or 119

If you are still in danger, move to a safe place first and call 112 (police). If you are injured, call 119 for an ambulance. Mobile phones, landlines and public phones all work. If you cannot speak, send a text message to 112 or use the “112 Emergency Report” app.

If you don’t speak Korean, say “English” or “Chinese” once you are connected. Since March 2024 the Korean National Police Agency has run 112 interpreters for English and Chinese 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so your report is taken in a three-way call between you, the 112 operator and the interpreter. For other languages, ask the officers at the scene for three-way interpretation or use the numbers below.

Number	What it is for
112	Police. English/Chinese interpreters 24/7; text reports accepted
119	Ambulance, fire, rescue. Interpretation can be connected
1330	Korea Travel Hotline (Korea Tourism Organization). English, Chinese, Japanese 24/7; other languages at set hours
1345	Immigration Contact Center (Ministry of Justice). Multilingual advice on stay and daily life; three-way interpretation
1577-1366	Danuri Helpline. Support for migrant women and multicultural families, emergency help for violence victims
1588-5644	BBB Korea volunteer interpreters. About 20 languages, 24/7

If you can’t describe where you are, read out the street name sign, the building number plate or the ID number on a nearby utility pole. Using a Korean SIM card with GPS or Wi-Fi switched on helps the police locate you faster.

2. Evidence matters most in the first hours

Medical treatment and a medical certificate: if you are hurt, see a doctor immediately and ask for a medical certificate (jindanseo) stating the injury and expected treatment period. It is the basic evidence in any assault case.
Photos and videos: photograph your injuries, damaged clothing and the scene, with the date visible.
CCTV and dashcams: footage from nearby shops, buildings and car dashcams is often overwritten after a while. Note where the cameras are and ask the police to secure the footage quickly.
Messages and transfers: in fraud or threat cases, screenshot chats, account numbers, transfer receipts and the offender’s social media profile, and do not delete anything.
Witnesses: if someone helped you at the scene, get their name and phone number.

If your passport or ID was stolen, ask the police for a document confirming your theft or loss report. You will usually need it for an emergency passport from your embassy and for travel insurance claims.

3. Filing a police report and asking for an interpreter

Besides calling 112, you can report a crime or file a criminal complaint at the nearest police box (jigudae/pachulso) or at the civil affairs desk of a police station. Complaints are normally written in Korean, so a statement written only in your own language can slow things down. Where possible, attach a Korean translation or have a lawyer help you prepare the complaint.

Interpreter: you can ask for an interpreter when you give your statement as a victim. Even if you manage everyday Korean, using an interpreter is safer for an accurate record. The police provide interpretation services for foreigners reporting crimes.
A trusted person beside you: under Article 221(3) and Article 163-2 of the Criminal Procedure Act, you can ask for a family member, friend or other trusted person to sit with you while you are interviewed as a victim.
Case number and investigator: always write down the investigator’s name, team, phone number and the case number. You will need them to follow up.
Check your statement: go through the written record of your statement sentence by sentence with the interpreter and ask for corrections where it differs from what you said.

If you have no valid visa, the fear of reporting is less justified than it used to be. Article 84 of the Immigration Act requires public officials to notify immigration when they find someone staying illegally, but Article 92-2(5) of its Enforcement Decree exempts them from that duty when, while providing crime-victim relief or human-rights remedies, they consider the person’s relief a priority. The police also state in their crime-prevention guide for foreigners that they do not report the immigration status of undocumented people who report being victims of crime. Each case is assessed individually, so if you are worried, speak to 1345 or a lawyer first.

4. When to contact your embassy, and what to ask for

It is a good idea to contact your embassy or consulate yourself. Unlike when a foreigner is arrested, there is no automatic consular notification when you are the victim. You can find contact details on your embassy’s website or through 1345, and most embassies have an after-hours emergency line.

What the consulate can do	What the consulate cannot do
Contact family or friends, issue an emergency passport	Intervene directly in a Korean police investigation or trial
Provide lists of local lawyers and interpreters	Represent you as your lawyer
Advise on hospitals, repatriation and other consular help	Demand a particular outcome from the authorities
Ask the authorities about the progress of your case where appropriate	Pay legal or medical costs for you (varies by country)

Some countries have their own information or support programmes for nationals who become crime victims abroad, so ask your consulate whether such support exists.

5. Victim support services

Crime Victim Support Centers (1577-1295): run alongside each district prosecutors’ office, offering counselling, links to medical and living cost support, and legal information.
Smile Centers: psychological treatment and temporary housing for victims of violent crime and their families.
Sunflower Centers (1899-3075): 24-hour medical, counselling and investigation support for victims of sexual and domestic violence. Victims of sexual crimes can receive a state-appointed victim’s lawyer selected by the prosecutor (Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, Art. 27).
Danuri Helpline (1577-1366): multilingual counselling and emergency support for migrant women and multicultural families.

If a crime caused death, serious injury or permanent disability and you could not get compensation from the offender, you may be able to claim state crime victim relief. Under Article 23 of the Crime Victim Protection Act, foreign victims qualify only if there is reciprocity with their home country, or if they are the spouse of a Korean national or are raising a child born of a marriage with a Korean national and hold permanent residence or another qualifying long-term status. Claims go to the crime victim relief council at the district prosecutors’ office for your address, residence or the place of the crime, and must be filed within 3 years of learning of the harm and 10 years of the crime (Art. 25).

6. Your rights during the investigation and trial

Notification: a complainant is told whether the prosecutor indicts or not (Criminal Procedure Act, Art. 258), and a victim who asks can be informed of hearing dates, the judgment and the offender’s detention or release (Art. 259-2).
Challenging a decision not to proceed: if the police decide not to refer the case to prosecutors, you can file an objection (Art. 245-7). If the prosecutor decides not to indict, you can appeal to the higher prosecutors’ office and apply to the court for a ruling (Prosecutors’ Office Act, Art. 10; Criminal Procedure Act, Art. 260).
Speaking in court: victims can tell the court about the harm suffered and their view on punishment (Criminal Procedure Act, Art. 294-2).
Compensation order: in certain cases such as bodily injury, assault-related crimes, theft and fraud, you can ask the criminal court to order the offender to pay compensation, without a separate civil lawsuit (Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition of Legal Proceedings, Art. 25).

Be careful with settlements. For offences that cannot be punished against the victim’s wishes, such as simple assault, threats or defamation, once you submit a statement that you do not want the offender punished, you cannot change your mind (Criminal Procedure Act, Art. 232). Settlement agreements are almost always written in Korean, so make sure you fully understand the amount, the conditions and clauses such as “I will raise no civil or criminal claims” before signing.

7. If you are leaving Korea or your visa is running out

The investigation and trial can continue after you leave. But if the police or court cannot reach you when your statement is needed, the case may stall or turn against you. Before you go:

Give your statement and submit your evidence before departure wherever possible.
Give the investigator your overseas phone number, email address and departure date.
Appoint a Korean lawyer, who can review the file, negotiate a settlement, apply for a compensation order or bring a civil claim on your behalf after you leave.
If you need to stay in Korea for legal proceedings, consider applying for G-1 (Miscellaneous) status. Ministry of Justice guidelines list people involved in ongoing lawsuits and people needing humanitarian consideration, such as victims of sexual violence, as G-1 categories. Immigration decides each application individually.

8. Why a lawyer who speaks your language makes a difference

A lawyer is not only for “when you go to court”. For foreign victims, the biggest difference is made at these stages:

Preparing a clear criminal complaint in Korean with a list of evidence
Accompanying you to police and prosecutors’ interviews and checking that the record matches what you said
Reviewing and negotiating settlement offers, and advising whether to sign a no-punishment statement
Applying for a compensation order, bringing a civil damages claim or applying for state victim relief
Coordinating the case with visa extensions or changes of status

Nuances easily get lost through interpretation, and many foreign victims see months pass without understanding where their case stands. Working with a lawyer who can explain the Korean process to you directly in your language closes that gap.

9. Checklist after a crime

Am I safe? Have I called 112 or 119?
Have I secured a medical certificate, photos, messages and transfer records?
Have I noted CCTV and dashcam locations and asked the police to secure the footage?
Do I have the case number and the investigator’s name and number?
If my passport was stolen, do I have a police confirmation and have I contacted my embassy?
Have I asked to be notified as a victim and contacted support services?
Have I understood any settlement or no-punishment document before signing?
Have I checked my departure date and visa expiry and decided how to handle them?

Frequently asked questions

Q. I don’t speak Korean. Can I still call 112?
Yes. Call 112 and say “English” or “Chinese”, and you will be connected to a Korean National Police Agency interpreter in a three-way call, 24 hours a day. For other languages, use the three-way interpretation offered by the Korea Travel Hotline (1330), the Immigration Contact Center (1345) or BBB Korea (1588-5644). If you cannot talk, you can text 112.

Q. I am undocumented. Will I be deported if I report a crime?
Article 92-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act allows public officials to skip reporting an undocumented foreigner to immigration when they are providing crime-victim relief or human-rights remedies and consider the victim’s relief a priority. The Korean police also state in their guide for foreigners that they do not report the immigration status of undocumented crime victims. Outcomes can vary, so talk to 1345 or a lawyer first if you are worried.

Q. Will my embassy handle the case for me?
No. Embassies and consulates cannot intervene in a Korean investigation or trial or act as your lawyer. They can contact your family, issue an emergency passport, give you lists of local lawyers and interpreters, and follow up on your case.

Q. I have to leave Korea soon. What happens to my case?
The investigation and trial can continue after you leave. Give your statement and evidence before departure, leave your overseas contact details with the investigator, and appoint a Korean lawyer who can handle the case, settlement talks and compensation claims for you. In some cases you can apply to change to G-1 (Miscellaneous) status to stay for ongoing proceedings.

Q. Can foreigners receive state compensation for crime victims?
Under Article 23 of the Crime Victim Protection Act, a foreign victim qualifies only if there is reciprocity with their home country, or if they are the spouse of a Korean national or raising a child born of a marriage with a Korean national and hold permanent residence or another qualifying long-term status. Applications must be filed within 3 years of learning of the harm and 10 years of the crime. Even if you do not qualify, Crime Victim Support Centers can still help with counselling and medical cost support.

Final thoughts

When you become a crime victim in an unfamiliar country, it is easy to delay the report or lose evidence simply because you don’t know where to start. Korea does, however, offer 112 interpretation, victim notification, compensation orders and victim support services that are open to foreigners. What you do in the first few days, securing evidence and starting the process correctly, often shapes the outcome.

If you or a family member or friend has been the victim of a crime in Korea and needs help, please gather a summary of what happened, any documents you received and your visa details, and contact me via the KakaoTalk open chat below or by phone (+82-10-4692-6821). Consultations are available in English, German, French and Korean. You can also use the contact form or see my legal services for foreigners in Seoul.

변호록 리변/이희준 변호사#변호록 #리변 #부동산 #학원 #미용실 #카페 #헬스장 #건설 #약국 #네일샵 #경업금지 #인테리어 #사기 #명의대여 #영업양도 #권리금 #실업급여 #배임 #영업비밀침해 #분양계약해제 #지역주택조합 #민간임대 #임의세대 #변호사 #취소 #해제open.kakao.com

More videos on Korean legal cases are on my YouTube channel (in Korean).

Victim of a Crime in Korea as a Foreigner? What to Do – Calling 112, Interpreters, Your Embassy and Your Rights