SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Byung Chang Lee, DR & AJU LLC
6. Privileges 6.1 Invoking the Privilege Against Self- Incrimination A witness can invoke the right to refuse to pro - vide information when it is related to self-incrim - ination, or where there is a risk that their relative could be charged. In addition, the fact that a par - ty has actually invoked privilege does not affect the essence of the case, and no inferences are drawn from raising such a privilege. 6.2 Undermining the Privilege Over Communications Exempt From Discovery or Disclosure Pursuant to Article 26 of the Lawyers Act, a law - yer shall not disclose confidential information and has a right to refuse to provide such con - fidential information. However, the Korean legal system does not yet have the sort of privilege widely recognised in common law countries. Such confidentiality or privilege can be restricted when there is an important public need or the client’s consent, or if it is needed to defend the lawyer’s own interests. However, there is increasing controversy regard - ing the restriction of confidentiality when there is an important public need, which can be broadly or arbitrarily interpreted by the investigating authorities. The Korean Bar Association is try - ing to amend the Lawyers Act in order to adopt the attorney–client privilege, which is an indis - pensable concept in terms of preserving legal professionalism.
4.2 Service of Proceedings out of the Jurisdiction The service process for overseas parties is based on the Hague Convention or a bilateral treaty, and it generally takes around six to 12 months in processing. There is no specific option or alter - native in Korea to speed up the service process out of the jurisdiction.
5. Enforcement 5.1 Methods of Enforcement
In monetary claims, the most usual methods of enforcement available in Korea are applications for an attachment order on the bank accounts or real estate held in the name of debtors, pro - vided that the creditor has a final and enforce - able judgment. Typically, it takes around three to six months to handle enforcement procedures, depending on the characteristic of the attached assets. If a creditor does not have a final and enforceable judgment, however, and wants to preserve the debtor’s assets in advance, the creditor can file an application for a preliminary attachment order. In non-monetary claims where the creditor has a right to deliver a property against the debtor who possesses it, the creditor can file an application for a delivery request with the enforcing court. 5.2 Enforcement of Foreign Judgments There is no applicable information in this juris - diction.
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