Can I Recover Money Sent to a Scammer in Korea?

Short answer. Sometimes, and speed decides it. For telecommunications-based financial fraud there is a dedicated statutory route: under Article 3 of the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud, a victim can apply directly to a bank to suspend payment on the account the money went to, and the bank that receives the application must pass the information on and request suspension where the money has moved to an account at another bank. The money has to still be there. Once it has been withdrawn, this route is closed and only ordinary civil and criminal remedies remain.

What Korean law says

Article 3(1): a victim who has suffered property loss through the conduct defined in the Act may apply to the bank managing the account the money was transferred from, or the bank managing the account used for the fraud, for relief including suspension of payment on that account.

Article 3(2): an investigating agency may request suspension of payment on an account used for fraud from the bank managing it. Article 3(3) requires the investigating agency, where it makes such a request, to identify the victim and the amount and notify the bank within the period set by Presidential Decree.

Article 3(4): where the money has been transferred on to an account used for fraud at another bank, the bank receiving the application or request must provide the necessary information to that other bank and request suspension of payment there.

The Act then provides a procedure for extinguishing the account holder’s claim and for paying a refund to victims out of the balance.

Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud and Refund of Loss, Article 3. Act No. 21909, in force from 8 September 2026. A further tranche takes effect 1 October 2026, which changes the statutory terminology from loss amount to loss assets; the mechanism described here is unchanged.

What usually happens in practice

The whole system is a race against withdrawal. Money in these cases is typically moved within minutes to hours, and the suspension only bites on what is still sitting in the account. That is why the first call is to the bank and to the police, not to a lawyer, and why the first hour matters more than the first week.

The route is also limited to the conduct the Act covers. A straightforward loan that was never repaid, or a business deal that went wrong, is not within it, and for those the remedies are a criminal complaint and a civil claim. The compensation order in a criminal case is worth knowing about for those situations.

Where a suspension does hold, a refund is paid out of the remaining balance after the statutory procedure runs. It is rarely the full amount, and it takes months rather than days.

What you should do next

Call the receiving bank immediately and ask for payment suspension. Do not wait for advice first.
Report to the police the same day, and keep the report number.
Preserve every transfer record and message thread before anything is deleted.
If the money is already gone, switch to the criminal complaint and compensation route rather than repeating the bank call.

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Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 12 September 2026.