Short answer. Signing is the last step, not a formality, and before it happens you have a right to check the record. Article 244 of the Criminal Procedure Act requires that the record be shown to you or read aloud, and that you be asked whether anything was recorded differently from what you said or is inconsistent with the facts. If you raise an objection or give an opinion, it must be added to the record, and the part you objected to must be left legible. Only where you state you have no objection are you asked to write that to that effect in your own hand.
What Korean law says
Article 244(1): a suspect’s statement must be entered in a record.
Article 244(2): the record must be shown to the suspect to read or read aloud to the suspect. The suspect must be asked whether there is any part recorded differently from what was stated or inconsistent with the facts, and where the suspect raises an objection such as a request to add, reduce or change something, or states an opinion, that must be entered in the record additionally. The part the suspect objected to must be left so that it can still be read.
Article 244(3): where the suspect states that there is no objection or opinion regarding the record, the suspect is to write that to that effect in the suspect’s own hand.
Criminal Procedure Act, Article 244. Act No. 21241, in force from 1 July 2026.
What usually happens in practice
The record is a summary written by the investigator, not a transcript, and summarising is where meaning moves. A phrase you used loosely can appear in tighter language, and an answer given about one moment can read as if it covered the whole evening. This is the stage at which that is cheap to fix.
The detail in paragraph 2 that matters is the requirement to leave the objected-to part readable. Corrections are made by addition, not by erasing what was there, so raising a correction does not destroy the earlier version. That is a reason to raise it rather than let it pass.
If you are working through an interpreter, ask for the record to be interpreted before you sign. Signing a document you have not understood is the single most common avoidable problem in these files.
What you should do next
- Read it, or have it read to you, in full. Do not skim to the end.
- Raise every difference, however small it seems. Additions are permitted by statute.
- Have it interpreted before signing if Korean is not your first language.
- Ask for a note of what was taken or produced during the interview.
Related
Can I refuse to answer police questions in Korea?
Do I get an interpreter at a Korean police interview?
Police interviews in Korea: what to expect
Criminal procedure answers
All Korean law answers
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Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 12 September 2026.