What is an employment restriction order in Korea?

What Korean law says

Article 56(1): where a court imposes a sentence or medical treatment and custody for a sexual offence against a child or young person, or a sexual offence against an adult, it must pronounce at the same time as the judgment, or give notice with the summary order, an order prohibiting the person from operating a child or youth related institution, or from being employed at or in fact providing labour to one, for a defined period. The period runs from the day execution of the sentence or of treatment and custody is completed, suspended or remitted, or, where a fine is imposed, from the day the sentence becomes final. The proviso: the order is not made where the risk of reoffending is markedly low, or where the court judges there are special circumstances meaning employment should not be restricted.

Article 56(2): the period may not exceed ten years.

Article 56(3): before pronouncing the order the court may hear opinions on the risk of reoffending from a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a social welfare specialist or another relevant expert.

Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse, Article 56. Act No. 21108, in force from 12 May 2026.

What usually happens in practice

Three features catch people out. The order is made in the criminal judgment itself, so it is not a separate administrative step to be dealt with later. It attaches to a summary order too, which is another reason accepting a fine without advice can be the more expensive choice. And it does not require the offence to have involved a minor.

The proviso is where the argument lives. The court can decline to impose the order, or impose a shorter one, and paragraph 3 tells you what kind of material persuades it: expert assessment of the risk of reoffending. That is something to prepare before sentencing rather than to appeal afterwards.

The list of covered institutions is long and includes kindergartens, schools and a wide range of related facilities. If your work or your visa is tied to one of them, the order can end the employment even where the sentence itself does not.

What you should do next

• Raise the order before sentencing, not after. It is decided in the same judgment.
• Check whether your workplace falls within the listed categories, and whether your residence status depends on it.
• If risk of reoffending is genuinely low, put expert material in. Paragraph 3 invites exactly that.
• Factor the order in when deciding whether to contest a summary order.

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