Legal Services in Korea for International Clients
Find the legal service that best matches your situation.
YUSU Lawfirm is a Korean law firm serving foreign individuals, international families and overseas clients. Korean Legal Advice is the firm’s English-language legal service. We handle criminal investigations and defense, crime victim complaints, divorce and family matters, immigration-related legal issues, refugee applications, civil disputes, and contracts, legal notices and settlements, working with clients in English.
If you are not sure which service applies to your situation, you can still send us the basic details and our team will review your inquiry before determining the appropriate scope of assistance.
Legal Help Organized Around Your Situation
Explore the category closest to your legal issue. Each service page explains the scope of assistance and what information to prepare.
Criminal Defense &
Police Investigation
Criminal Defense
For foreign nationals under investigation or charged with a crime in Korea. The criminal defense team is led by Attorney Soobin You, a former prosecutor, and works with clients in English from the first police contact through the prosecutor’s decision and, where necessary, trial.
Criminal Lawyer in Korea →Police Investigation
For people who have been called, sent a notice or asked to appear for questioning by the Korean police. We help you understand the purpose of the investigation, prepare before questioning and receive legal assistance throughout the investigation.
Police Investigation Lawyer in Korea →Sex Crime Allegations
Defense for foreign nationals accused of a sexual offense in Korea. These investigations move quickly, and what happens before and during the first police interview often shapes the rest of the case.
Sex Crime Lawyer in Korea →Crime Victims &
Criminal Complaints
Criminal Complaint
For foreign nationals in Korea who have been harmed by a crime, for example fraud, and want the matter investigated. We help organize the facts and evidence, prepare and file a structured criminal complaint, and act for the complainant during the investigation.
Criminal Complaint Lawyer in Korea →Reporting a Crime in Korea
A step-by-step guide for foreigners on how a crime is reported in Korea and what usually happens after the report.
READ THE GUIDE →Divorce &
Family
Divorce & Family
For foreign nationals and international families dealing with divorce and family matters connected to Korea. We look first at where each spouse lives, nationality, children, property and any proceedings in another country, then handle divorce procedure, custody and support arrangements in Korea.
Divorce and Family Lawyer in Korea →Can a Foreigner Divorce in Korea?
A guide to the divorce process and grounds for divorce when one or both spouses are foreign nationals.
READ THE GUIDE →Immigration &
Refugee Matters
Immigration-Related Legal Issues
For foreign nationals facing a notice from Immigration, a status of stay problem, or immigration consequences of a criminal case. We review the documents you already have and explain the legal issue and the appropriate next step.
Immigration Lawyer in Korea →Refugee & Asylum
For applicants in Korea preparing a refugee status application, statement or interview, and the review process that follows. We help you present your own history accurately and clearly. We do not create or change your story.
Refugee and Asylum Support in Korea →Civil Disputes, Contracts
& Settlement
Civil Litigation
Bringing or defending civil claims in Korea involving unpaid money, contracts, damages or property, from reviewing the claim through filing and court representation.
Civil Litigation Lawyer in Korea →Legal Notice (내용증명)
Preparation of a Korean certified content letter for formal demands, payment requests and other disputes.
Certified Content Letter (내용증명) →Settlement & Negotiation
Attorney-led communication, negotiation and settlement documentation when a dispute may be resolved through agreement.
Settlement and Negotiation →Contract Review
Review of contracts involving Korean companies, transactions or legal issues.
Contract Review in Korea →Legal Help for Foreigners in Korea, Wherever You Are
Our clients include people who live in Korea, people who were only visiting when something happened, and people outside Korea who have a legal matter here. Many do not know at first whether their problem is criminal, family, immigration or civil. That is normal: tell us what happened and we will identify the legal issues involved.
- Foreign residents working, studying or running a business in Korea
- International families, including people married to a Korean spouse
- Visitors and travelers involved in an incident, an accident or an investigation in Korea
- Foreign employees and business owners with a money, contract or workplace dispute
- Crime victims who want a crime committed against them properly investigated
- Overseas individuals and companies with a legal matter that has to be handled in Korea
How Korean Legal Representation Works With Us
The steps are the same whether your matter is criminal, family, immigration or civil. What changes is which authority is involved: the police, the prosecutor’s office, a court, Immigration or another agency.
Tell us what happened
Send a short inquiry in English. Please do not send documents or evidence through the website at this stage.
Attorney review
We review your situation, any deadline you are facing and which areas of Korean law are involved.
Your options in English
We explain the likely next steps and the appropriate scope of assistance.
Engagement
If you decide to proceed, we confirm the scope of representation before work begins.
Representation
We act for you before the relevant authority and keep you updated in English.
Why International Clients Contact YUSU Lawfirm
YUSU Lawfirm brings together a former prosecutor, a former police investigator, and attorneys trained in Korea and the United States. See full team profiles.
Former public prosecutor at the Daegu and Uijeongbu District Prosecutors’ Offices. Profile
Educated in the United States and communicates directly with English-speaking clients.
Previously practiced at Law Firm Sol and served as Deputy Managing Attorney at Law Firm W.
Spent 13 years as a Korean police investigator.
How English Communication Works
Consultations are available in English, and our team explains procedures, documents and decisions to you in English. Official procedures in Korea are generally conducted in Korean. An interpreter translates words; a lawyer advises you on what they mean for your case. Interpreter and lawyer roles
Seoul and Gyeongju Offices
Seoul Office: 6F-602, 180 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul.
Gyeongju Office: 3F-301, 83-1 Hwarang-ro, Gyeongju.
YUSU Lawfirm represents clients across Korea.
If You Are Outside Korea
Many clients first contact us before arriving in Korea or after leaving. Whether you need to be in Korea for a particular step depends on the type of matter, and it is one of the first things we review.
You Do Not Need to Know the Legal Category
You do not need to identify the exact Korean legal issue before contacting us. Start with what happened, any deadline you are facing, and the documents you already have.
Related Legal Guides for Foreigners in Korea
These guides answer narrower questions. For short answers to specific questions, see Korean Law Answers.
- What happens in a Korean police interview
- Arrested in Korea: the first 48 hours
- How a criminal charge can affect your visa
- How sex crime cases work in Korea
- Fraud cases: the criminal and recovery tracks
- Traffic accidents: what the driver must do
- How to report a crime in Korea as a foreigner
- Divorce in Korea when you are a foreign national
- Deportation and re-entry in Korea
- When a Korean visa extension is denied
Legal Services for Foreigners in Korea: Questions
Is Korean Legal Advice a separate law firm?
No. Korean Legal Advice is the English-language legal service of YUSU Lawfirm (법무법인 유수), a Korean law firm with offices in Seoul and Gyeongju. Legal representation is provided by YUSU Lawfirm.
Does YUSU Lawfirm only handle criminal cases?
No. Criminal investigations and litigation are a particular strength of the firm, but we also handle crime victim complaints, divorce and family matters, immigration-related legal issues, refugee applications, civil disputes, and contracts, legal notices and settlements.
Do I need to know what kind of lawyer I need before contacting you?
No. Start with what happened, any deadline you are facing and what you already have. We will identify the legal issues and the appropriate service.
Can I speak with a lawyer in English?
Yes. Consultations are available in English, and Attorney Kyungmin Kim, who was educated in the United States, communicates directly with English-speaking clients.
Can I contact you if I am not in Korea?
Yes. You can send an inquiry from anywhere. Whether a particular step requires you to be in Korea depends on the matter and is reviewed early.
Where are your offices?
YUSU Lawfirm has offices in Seoul (Mapo) and Gyeongju and represents clients across Korea.
Not Sure Which Service You Need?
You do not need to identify the exact legal category before contacting us. Start with the basic information and our team will review your inquiry.