Hello, I’m Attorney Park.
Juvenile cases in Korea are handled in a very different atmosphere from ordinary criminal trials.
Under the Juvenile Act, the main goal is not punishment, but protection and guidance.
The court looks at how to help a young person grow in a healthier direction, rather than how to penalize past behavior.
Still, even with good intentions, court decisions are not always perfect.
Sometimes the court misunderstands important facts.
In other cases, there may be a violation of Acts and subordinate statutes that affects the outcome.
And occasionally, the final disposition may simply feel deeply unjust.
For these situations, the Juvenile Act provides a legal path to ask the court to look again.
This process is called an appeal.
An appeal may be filed when there is a ruling regarding protective disposition, a ruling regarding additional disposition, or a ruling to change protective disposition or additional disposition.
If such a ruling involves a legal violation that may affect the relevant decision, or a serious misunderstanding in determining relevant facts, an appeal is allowed.
An appeal is also possible when the disposition itself is clearly unreasonable and deeply unjust.
This right does not belong only to the juvenile concerned.
A guardian, an assistant, or a legal representative may also file an appeal.
However, time is extremely limited.
The period allowed for an appeal is only seven days.
From the moment the ruling is made, a quick decision is required.
If this deadline passes, the appeal will not be accepted.
In juvenile protection cases, it is not enough to act quickly.
Within those seven days, a petition of appeal must be filed, and the reason for the appeal must be stated.
The reason does not need to be long, but it must clearly explain why the original ruling cannot be accepted.
A separate written explanation may also be submitted, as long as it is done within the lawful appeal period.
Korean court decisions have made one point very clear.
The court of appeal has no duty to give the appellant another chance to submit appeal reasons later.
In fact, courts have ruled that it is lawful to reject the appeal when no appeal reason was submitted within the proper period, even if an appeal was technically filed.
In juvenile appeals, procedure and timing matter just as much as the substance of the argument.
Once an appeal is filed, the petition of appeal must be presented to the Juvenile Department which has made the ruling, meaning the original court.
That Juvenile Department must then transmit the petition to the court of appeal.
The court of appeal first reviews whether the procedure of an appeal follows the law.
It checks whether deadlines were met and whether the appeal has a legal basis.
If the procedure violates the provisions of Acts, or if the appeal is deemed groundless, the court must reject it by means of a ruling.
If the appeal has merits, the court of appeal will cancel the original ruling.
The case is usually sent back to the original Juvenile Department to be reviewed again.
In urgent situations, or where it is deemed necessary, the court of appeal may directly quash the original ruling and decide on a non-disposition or decide to impose a protective disposition itself.
There is also an important rule about time already served.
When a court makes a protective disposition again after accepting an appeal, the entire period of execution of a protective disposition under the original ruling is included in the new disposition. This applies only to cases limited to the applications between dispositions under Article 32 (1) 8, 9 and 10.
One common misunderstanding should be clarified.
Filing an appeal does not lead to a suspension of execution.
In other words, the execution of the ruling shall not be suspended by the appeal.
The protective disposition continues while the appeal is under review.
Even if an appeal is rejected, the legal path is not entirely closed.
A reappeal may be made to the Supreme Court, but only when the ruling rejecting the appeal violates Acts and subordinate statutes.
The detailed trial procedures for juvenile protection cases are set out in the Supreme Court Regulations.
These regulations explain how appeals should be handled in practice.
They clearly state that the petition of appeal must briefly but clearly state the appeal reason.
Special rules apply when a juvenile is placed in a juvenile classification review center or a juvenile reformatory.
If the juvenile submits the petition of appeal to the head of that institution, or someone acting on that person’s behalf, within the appeal period, the appeal is considered timely.
The institution must record the receipt date and immediately forward the petition to the Juvenile Department that made the ruling.
The court of appeal must investigate the matters stated in the appeal reason.
When the court of appeal cancels the original ruling and the juvenile is staying in a facility, the court must notify the head of that facility without delay.
The case is then returned or transferred for further review.
At that stage, the judge who made the original ruling is not allowed to take part again.
Protective dispositions in juvenile cases affect not only a child’s present situation, but also their future.
When a decision is based on a legal error or a misunderstanding of facts, the Juvenile Act allows a chance to ask for reconsideration.
That chance, however, exists only within the strict framework of the law.
Seven days. A clear appeal reason. Proper procedure.
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