Exit Ban Lifted in Two Days for a Tourist Charged with Trespass in Korea

A case handled by YUSU Lawfirm. Identifying details have been anonymized.

Case at a Glance

The Client’s Situation

The client came to Korea as a tourist. After drinking with others one night, the client entered a building without permission and the police opened an investigation for trespass into a building.

While the investigation was ongoing, the police had an exit ban imposed on the client. For a visitor with a return flight and a life abroad, this was the most urgent problem: until the ban was lifted, the client could not leave Korea, however minor the incident might turn out to be.

Key Legal Issue

An exit ban during an investigation is a measure to keep a person available to investigators. It is not a penalty and it is not supposed to last longer than the investigation needs. The real questions were whether investigators still needed the client to stay in Korea, and how the case itself should end.

Trespass into a building is a criminal offence under Article 319 of the Korean Criminal Act, so the client also needed a defense on the charge, not only on the exit ban.

What YUSU Lawfirm Did

• Explained everything in English. The client was told what the charge meant, what the exit ban was, and what to expect at each step.
• Argued before the police. The attorney made oral arguments to the police that the facts were not in dispute, that the client was cooperating, and that keeping a tourist in Korea served no further investigative purpose.
• Argued before the prosecutor. After the case was sent to the prosecutor’s office, the attorney submitted a written opinion and made oral arguments to the prosecutor, setting out the circumstances of the incident and asking for leniency.

Result

The exit ban was lifted within about two days. The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office granted leniency and closed the case by summary indictment with a fine of KRW 500,000, rather than seeking a formal trial. The client was able to leave Korea.

What This Case Shows

For a visitor, the hardest part of a minor criminal case is often the exit ban rather than the charge itself. Waiting passively can mean missed flights, lost work at home, and weeks of uncertainty. A prompt, coordinated response to both the police and the prosecutor can shorten that period and shape how the case ends.

A summary indictment is a written procedure in which the prosecutor asks the court to impose a fine without a trial hearing. It is a common way for less serious cases to end, but whether it is available depends on the facts of each case.

If you are under investigation and need to travel, see Can I leave Korea while I am under investigation?.

Related Legal Services

For how we handle this type of matter, see Police Investigation Support. More outcomes are collected in our Case Results.

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This case has been anonymised. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.