Short answer. Yes. Article 34 of the Criminal Procedure Act gives defence counsel, and a person who intends to become counsel, the right to meet a defendant or suspect who is in physical custody, to hand over and receive documents and articles, and to have a doctor examine them. The right belongs to counsel and is not conditioned on the investigation’s convenience. Note the wording covers a person who is about to be instructed, which matters when you have not yet formally appointed anyone.
What Korean law says
Article 34: defence counsel, or a person who intends to become defence counsel, may meet a defendant or suspect who is in physical custody, may give and receive documents or articles, and may have a doctor examine the defendant or suspect.
Criminal Procedure Act, Article 34. Act No. 21241, in force from 1 July 2026. Verified against the current consolidated text; this Article carries no pending tranche.
What usually happens in practice
Three parts of that short provision do real work. The first is that it extends to a lawyer who is not yet instructed, so a family member can send a lawyer to see you before any paperwork exists — which is the usual sequence when someone is taken into custody unexpectedly.
The second is the exchange of documents and articles. That is how the chronology you write, the messages you have, and the contact details you need actually move between you and your lawyer while you are held.
The third is the medical limb. Counsel can have a doctor examine you. If you were injured during an arrest, or your health has deteriorated in custody, that is the route, and it produces a record made at the time rather than an account given later.
If access is being delayed or refused, say so clearly and have the refusal and its time noted. A meeting that eventually happens two days late is not the same thing as the right being honoured.
What you should do next
- Ask for a lawyer immediately, and tell your family a lawyer can come before being formally instructed.
- Write your chronology and hand it over at the meeting. Document exchange is part of the right.
- If you were injured or are unwell, ask counsel to arrange a medical examination under this Article.
- If a meeting is refused or delayed, note the time and who refused it.
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Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 12 September 2026.