Victim protective order
Victim protective order- If necessary to protect a victim of domestic violence, the court may rule to issue any of the following victim protective orders against a domestic violence offender, at the request of a victim or his/her legal representative (Article 55-2 (1) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence"):
1. Eviction, etc. from a room, in which the victim or family members live, or a room occupied thereby
2. A restraining order to stay at least 100 meters away from the residence or place of work of the victim or family members
3. A ban on approaching the victim or family members through telecommunications
4. Restrictions on the exercise of parental authority against the offender with parental authority for the victim
5. Restrictions on the exercise of the right of the offender to visit the victim
- Victim protective orders may be issued concurrently (Article 55-2 (2) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").
Period of victim protective orders- Victim protective orders may last up to one year. However, the court may extend the period by two months to a maximum period of 3 years, ex officio or by ruling, upon request by a victim, his/her legal representative, or prosecutor, if it is deemed necessary to extend the period of victim protective order so as to protect the victim (Article 55-3 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").
Investigation and hearing of victim protective order- When investigating or hearing a victim protective order, the court must capitalize on expert knowledge of medical science, psychology, sociology, social welfare studies, etc., learn the personality, behavior, experiences and home circumstances of an offender, victims and other family members, as well as the motives, causes and circumstances of the crimes of domestic violence, in an effort to ensure that appropriate measures are enforced to achieve the purposes of protecting the human rights of victims and family members (Articles 55-7 and 19 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").
- The court may seek diagnostic opinions on the psychological or mental state of domestic violence offenders, victims or family members or the causes of the crimes of domestic violence from psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, social welfare scholars or other related experts, and must consider the results therefrom in the investigation or hearing of the cases subject to a victim protective order (Articles 55-7 and 22 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").
- If deemed necessary to protect privacy, to ensure peace and stability at home, or to maintain good public morals, the court may rule not to disclose the hearing to the public (Articles 55-7 and 32 (1) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").
- If a marriage migrant who is not proficient in the Korean language is required to offer his/her statement before the court in relation to the case subject to a victim protective order, he/she will be entitled to receive translation and interpretation services (Articles 55-7 and 34 (1) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence” and Articles 180 and 182 of the “Criminal Procedure Act”).
Request for the revocation and modification of a victim protective order- The court may revoke or modify the type of a victim protective order either ex officio or upon request by the victim, his/her legal representative, or prosecutor (Article 55-2 (3) and (4) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").
Non-performance of victim protective order- An offender who fails to follow the victim protective order will be punished by imprisonment with labor for up to two years, by a fine not exceeding 20 million won, or by misdemeanor imprisonment (Article 63 (1) 2 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").
Measures to protect victims from danger- If deemed necessary for the protection of a victim, the court may request a prosecutor to take any of the following measures to protect the victim from danger for a fixed period either ex officio or at the request of the victim or his/her legal representative. In such cases, the prosecutor may request the chief of a police station having jurisdiction over the residence or current location of the victim to take measures to protect the victim from danger, and the chief of the police station must comply with the request unless under extenuating circumstances (Article 55-2 (5) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence” and Article 3 of the “Enforcement Decree of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence"):
1. Measures to protect a victim who appears in court to be present at the hearings of a home protection case, case subject to a victim protective order or other family litigation procedures in which the other party is the domestic violence offender
2. Measures to protect a victim who exercises his/her right to visit his/her child
3. Referring the victim to a shelter or treatment facility
4. Accompanying the victim to and from the court as a testifier or witness, or when the right to visit the child is exercised
5. Periodically patrolling the victim's residence and installing surveillance cameras
6. Other measures deemed necessary for the protection of the victim