Trial Proceedings

Civil proceedings begin when a plaintiff or representing attorney files a complaint with a district court, a branch court, or a municipal court. When the complaint is filed, the court serves the defendant with a duplicate and requires him/her to file a written answer within 30 days. If the defendant fails to file a written answer within such time limit, the court may render a judgment without hearings. If the defendant submits a written answer, the court holds the pleading process (proceeding whereby both parties, in writing, enter an offense and defense on allegations and evidence) and the hearings (proceedings hereby both parties appear before the court to clarify their respective positions on disputed issues as well as to examine witnesses), and then renders a judgment.

Under the previous system, the court moved directly to the hearings without the pleading process when a complaint was lodged. Thus, it was usual that a number of hearings were repeated at three or four-week intervals with little or slow progress. However, along with the implementation of the new Civil Procedure Act, it is expected that fullyprepared and centralized hearings will eliminate the inefficiency of the previous system and result in the reduction of hearings, in most cases, to just one or two. Furthermore, hearings are administered in a sincere and efficient manner giving the parties the fullest opportunity to make their oral statements before the court.

If necessary, the plaintiff as well as the defendant may employ a lawyer as his/her representative during the trial proceedings, including during the pleading process and the hearings. However, when the amount in controversy does not exceed 50 million Korean won (approximately US$ 51,305.00 as of May 2008), each party with the court's prior permission may appoint a person who is not an attorney-atlaw as a representative. There is a legal aid system in which the state, under certain conditions, provides a financial assistance to a person who cannot afford to provide an attorney and/or other forms of litigation costs.

The Expert Commissioner System (ECS) was established by the amendment of Code of Civil Procedure in July 2007 and will be introduced into practice in August 2007. ECS was established to enhance the quality of court proceedings and judgments in the areas requiring skilled professional and technical disputes involving construction, medical, intellectual property rights in accordance to the request of the party involved or by the court decision. The Expert Commissioners will be able to advise a fair and neutral point of view based on their professional knowledge and expertise to the judges and parties involved in legal disputes, therefore leading to substantial and efficient trials.

Appeal Proceedings

The losing party who is dissatisfied with the findings of facts or conclusions of law by the trial court can appeal the judgment rendered by the trial court within two weeks from the date the judgment is served. In general, the high courts hear appeals with the exception that the appellate panels of the district courts hear appeals when the amount in controversy does not exceed 50 million Korean won (approximately US$ 51,305.00 as of May 2008). The appeal proceedings are similar to the trial proceedings, and the party is granted an opportunity to make new allegations and to produce new evidence.

The party who is dissatisfied with the judgment of the court of appeals may appeal to the Supreme Court, the court of last resort, within two weeks from the date the judgment is served. As the Supreme Court hears only matters of law, an appeal cannot be lodged with the Supreme Court unless the judgment of the court of appeals erred in conclusion of law or appeal proceedings were in grave contravention of law.

Trial Proceedings on a Small Claim Case

A small claim case is the case in which the plaintiff claims payment of money, fungibles, or securities not exceeding 20 million Korean won (approximately US$ 20,522.00 as of May 2008). A district court, a branch court, and a municipal court take charge of small claim suits, which amount to over 70 percent of all civil suits. The trial for a small claim adopts various procedures to expedite the resolution of the cases. Here are some examples: When a complaint is filed and there seems no real dispute between the plaintiff and the defendant, the court may render a decision urging the defendant to discharge his/her obligation without asking the reaction of the defendant (a dissatisfied defendant may raise an objection). Some persons in intimate family relations with the parties may represent the parties without court's permission. Evidence may easily be taken. The reasons need not be stated in the judgment. The judgment may be rendered on the same day just after hearings are closed. The grounds for final appeal are strictly limited.

The trial proceedings on a small claim, which feature expeditious and convenient processes for resolving disputes, contribute to the protection of the rights of the public. Only about two percent of the judgments rendered by the trial courts on small claim cases are appealed.

Civil Conciliation Proceedings

A civil conciliation is a legal proceeding whereby a judge or a conciliation committee hears allegations of the parties in dispute, and taking various factors into account, either advises them to make mutual concessions and to seek a compromise solution or renders a compulsory decision to that effect. The civil conciliation proceedings are very useful methods for dispute resolution in that they are more convenient, expeditious and inexpensive than adjudication proceedings, and lead to the ultimate resolution of disputes through an agreement by the parties. The Supreme Court encourages and takes various steps for more frequent use of conciliation proceedings. The number of civil cases resolved in conciliation proceedings has been steadily increasing each year. About 45,715 civil cases were disposed of in conciliation proceedings as of 2006.

Civil Execution Procedure

A civil execution procedure includes a procedure of compulsory execution as well as a procedure of foreclosure.In the past, the provisions of civil execution formed a part ofthe Civil Procedure Act. However, with the introduction of thenew Civil Procedure Act, the provisions on civil execution havebeen separated to constitute the Civil Execution Act. The CivilExecution Act contains a vast number of new provisions aimed atimproving execution procedure.

Compulsory execution is the procedure whereby the creditor obtains a satisfaction of his/her claim, with the assistance of the state, from the property of the debtor who does not voluntarily perform his/her obligation even though the judgment has been rendered against him/her. Authorities other than the judgment, such as a payment order, or a notarial deed can also be a basis for execution. The property of the debtor, which is subject to execution, includes real property, ships, automobiles, construction equipment, aircraft, movable property, and bonds. It is the court that enforces the compulsory execution on most property. However, in case of movable property, the marshal enforces the compulsory execution.

The most frequently used compulsory execution is execution sale of real property whereby the court seizes and sells real property of the debtor by an open tender. The proceeds are distributed among creditors.

Foreclosure is a legal proceeding instituted by the lender (the mortgagee) to force a sale of the mortgaged property in order to satisfy the unpaid debt secured by the property. The procedure of foreclosure is similar to that of execution sale of real property.

Statement of Property, Debt Defaulter Roster, and Property Inquiry

These methods are devised to secure the effectiveness of compulsory execution as well as to enable the judgment creditor to easily obtain satisfaction of his/her claim.

In the event that a debtor does not discharge a pecuniary obligation and it is difficult to ascertain the property of the debtor, the creditor who is entitled to motion for compulsory execution, may request the court to order the debtor to tender a list of property, which clearly specifies property in his/her possession. If the debtor fails to comply with the court ' s order or tenders a false list of property, he/she is subject to imprisonment, fine or confinement.

If the debtor does not discharge his/her obligation within six months after a monetary judgment becomes final and conclusive, fails to comply with the court ' s order to tender a list of property, or tenders a false list of property, the creditor may request the court to enter him/her in the debt defaulter roster. When the debtor is listed in the debt defaulter roster, such information is provided to financial institutions and the debtor may face difficulty in carrying on future credit transactions.

The Civil Execution Act introduces a new method through which inquiries about the debtor ' s property can be made. If the debtor fails to comply with the court ' s order to tender a list of property, or tenders a false list of property, the creditor may request the court to make inquiries about the debtor ' s property. The court, pursuant to the creditor ' s request, makes inquiries at the institutions, which keep information on the debtor ' s real property or financial assets in the form of electronic data, and orders them to submit such information. The creditor, then, can make use of information submitted by the institutions and move to the execution stage.

Provisional Attachment and Provisional Disposition Procedure

If the debtor hides or disposes his/her property before the compulsory execution procedure is commenced, the creditor is obstructed from obtaining satisfaction of the claim. To prevent such attempts and to secure the debtor ' s property, the court may order provisional attachment or provisional disposition, pursuant to the creditor ' s request. If it is necessary to preserve the execution of the monetary claim, the court may order the debtor ' s property to be put under provisional attachment. Provisional disposition may be granted for the purpose of setting the temporary state of affairs in regard to disputed legal relations or preserving the execution in regard to the claim for delivery of specific immovable or movable property.

Year	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Small claims	906,293	934,473	868,470	967,588	901,488	944,712	780,220
Single judge hearing	210,927	218,029	210,890	279,804	267,296	265,269	238.848
Panel hearing	33,852	37,729	42,529	41,595	45,021	49,050	55,168

Year	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Intermediate appeal	33,511	35,778	39,557	41,244	43,971	45,827	48,597
Final appeal	7,143	7,357	7,807	8,859	9,278	9,975	10,704