What is a criminal case?
A criminal case is a case to which criminal penalty applies. As we know, assault, theft, fraud, murder and other crimes are criminal cases.
In other words, the government regulates which action constitutes a crime and how to punish the perpetrator of such action in advance. The laws that prescribe these matters are criminal laws such as Criminal Act and Criminal Procedure. An Act is the law that regulates the process of investigation of the offender, various dispositions and indictment and the court’s trial process.
Therefore, a criminal trial is a process in which the court decides whether the indicted defendant is guilty or not and imposes penalty if the defendant is found guilty. Criminal cases can be divided into two types. One type is pressing charges against someone and the other type is getting charged by someone or investigative organization.
Filing a complaint
A victim of crime or his/her legal representative reports the crime to an investigative agency and demands punishment of the criminal.
Bringing a charge
A person other than the victim of crime or his/her representative demands the punishment of the criminal through an investigative agency.
Types of criminal cases
Human rights cases : National security violators and persons subject to security surveillance disposition
Cases related to national benefit and protection of the law : Obstruction of justice, perjury, false accusations
Cases related to individual benefit and protection of the law : Injury, rape, adultery, fraud, theft, libel, embezzlement, evasion of compulsory execution
Cases related to the Special Act on Criminal Affairs : Violation of the Act on the Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents or Bad Check Control Act
Juvenile crime related cases : Student crimes, juvenile delinquency, sex crimes, etc.
Criminal case procedure
In the case of plaintiff
In the case of defendant (the suspect)
Detention
Detention of a suspect involves keeping the suspect in custody to ensure his/her presence in the criminal court, prevent destruction of evidence, contribute to the discovery of actual truth, and execute the final judgment. It is a system to ensure the progress of the criminal lawsuit and execution of penalty.
Detention and warrant principle
To detain a suspect, a warrant that is requested by a prosecutor and issued by a judge according to the legal procedure needs to be presented. The prosecutor can request a judge of the competent court to issue a warrant and detain the suspect if there is a probable cause to believe that the suspect committed the crime, the suspect has no permanent home, the suspect could destroy evidences, or the suspect has fled or might flee. And a police officer can get a warrant by requesting a prosecutor to obtain a warrant from a judge of the competent court and detain a suspect.
