What Happens After a Sex Crime Complaint in Korea?

Short answer. A complaint starts an investigation, and it cannot be called off later as easily as people assume. Under Article 223 of the Criminal Procedure Act a victim of an offence may file a complaint. Article 232 allows a complaint to be withdrawn only before the pronouncement of the first instance judgment, and a person who withdraws cannot file again; the same limits apply to withdrawing a statement that punishment is wanted in cases that cannot be prosecuted against the victim’s express wishes. For sex offences under the Criminal Act, the complaint requirement itself was abolished in 2013, so withdrawal does not end the case.

What Korean law says

Article 223: a person injured by an offence may file a complaint.

Article 232(1): a complaint may be withdrawn before the judgment of the first instance is pronounced. Article 232(2): a person who has withdrawn a complaint cannot file it again. Article 232(3): the same two rules apply where, in a case that cannot be prosecuted against the victim’s express wishes, a statement that punishment is wanted is withdrawn.

Article 245-5 governs the handover: where police find a suspicion of an offence, the case is transferred to the prosecutor without delay with the documents and evidence; otherwise the documents are sent with written reasons and returned within 90 days.

Criminal Procedure Act, Articles 223, 232 and 245-5. Act No. 21241, in force from 1 July 2026.

What usually happens in practice

The sequence is investigation, then a police decision under Article 245-5, then a prosecutor’s charging decision. An accused person is usually contacted somewhere in the first stage, often by telephone before any document arrives, and that first interview is the one that shapes the file.

The withdrawal rules matter to both sides. For a complainant, withdrawal is a one-way door under Article 232(2). For an accused, the key point is the one from 2013: for sex offences under the Criminal Act the prosecution no longer depends on the complaint, so a withdrawal is mitigation rather than an exit.

Timelines are longer than people expect and silence in between is normal. It does not mean the case has gone away, and it is the period in which useful material can still be put in.

What you should do next

Preserve the objective record now: full message threads, transport and payment records.
Establish which offence and which statute is being investigated before your first interview.
Do not contact the complainant, whatever you have been told about withdrawal.
Use the quiet period to prepare material for the charging decision rather than waiting for it.

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