ENGLISH

- A complaint means an expression of the intention of a victim or a person entitled to file a complaint in a certain relationship with the victim (such as the legal representative of the victim) to report a crime to the investigative agency and seek the punishment of the criminal.

- In principle, the crime victim may file a complaint under the “Criminal Procedure Act” but he/she is unable to file a complaint against his/her spouse or lineal ascendant (Articles 223 and 224 of the “Criminal Procedure Act”).

- The victims of domestic violence (hereinafter referred to as the “victim”) or his/her legal representative may file a complaint against a domestic violence offender (hereinafter referred to as the “offender”). If the legal representative of the victim is also the offender or if the legal representative has committed the crime of domestic violence jointly with the offender, any relative of the victim is entitled to file a complaint (Article 6 (1) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- An exception applied to domestic violence and the victim or his/her legal representative is entitled to file a complaint against his/her lineal ascendant or his/her spouse’s lineal ascendant (Article 6 (2) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- If the victim does not have any legal representative or relative to file a complaint and if an interested party applies, the public prosecutor must, within 10 days of application, designate a person who will be able to file the complaint (Article 6 (3) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- A complaint may be filed with a prosecutor or police officer in writing or orally (Article 237 (1) of the “Criminal Procedure Act”).

- Unless under special circumstances, a female investigator for sexual violence must investigate the female victim of sexual violence [Article 18 (1) of the “Rules on the Investigation of the Crime of Sexual Violence and Victim Protection”].

- When investigating a victim, the police must take into account the victim's age, psychological state, and the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder, and, if possible, conduct the investigation in a separate room such as a statement recording room to create an atmosphere for psychological stability, and care must be exercised to prevent any damage to the victim's personality or honor, or any invasion of the victim’s privacy [“(National Police Agency) Criminal Investigation Rules” Article 186 (2)].

- A police officer must promptly investigate criminal domestic violence and transfer the case to a prosecutor (Article 7 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- A prosecutor may conditionally suspend the indictment of a domestic violence offender upon counseling, if it is deemed necessary to correct the personality and behavior of the offender after investigating a domestic violence case (Article 9-2 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- If a prosecutor deems it appropriate to issue a protective order against criminal domestic violence under the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence” in any of the following circumstances on account of the nature, motives and results of the case, the personality and behavior of a domestic violence offender, and other factors, the prosecutor may handle such crime as a home protection case. In this case, the prosecutor must respect the opinions of the victim (Article 9 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence"):

- If the case is handled as a home protection case, a prosecutor must transfer the case to a competent family court or a competent district court (hereinafter referred to as the "court"). if criminal domestic violence conflicts with other crimes, a prosecutor may separate the case concerning such criminal domestic violence from other cases and transfer the case to the competent court (Article 11 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- A prosecutor may prosecute an offender if the conduct of the offender is deemed necessary for criminal penalty (Article 246 of the “Criminal Procedure Act”).

- If the court deems it appropriate to issue a protective order against a domestic violence offender upon investigation under the "Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence", it may rule to transfer the case to the competent court of home protection cases. In this case, the court must respect the opinions of the victim (Article 12 of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- If a prosecutor deems that criminal domestic violence is likely to recur, he/she may make a request for ad hoc measures such as isolation and restraining order to the court, either ex officio or upon request by a police officer (Articles 8 (1) and 29 (1) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").

- A victim or his/her legal representative may request a prosecutor or police officer to make a request for ad hoc measures, file such application, or offer his/her statement (Article 8 (3) of the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence").