[Exclusive] Mask Mandate Lift Sparks Anxiety Among Fine Defaulters... Prosecutors Reissue Warrants for 90,000 People

Outstanding Fines Over 1 Million Won: Wanted List Reinstated
93,735 Cases Released in December 2020, Re-listed on March 2
Labor Camp Detention if Fines Remain Unpaid After Arrest

Seoul Seocho-dong Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

The prosecution has resumed issuing wanted notices for those who failed to pay fines, which had been deferred to prevent the spread of COVID-19, after 2 years and 3 months, and it was confirmed belatedly that they have started arresting wanted individuals. The prosecution also reinstated wanted notices for about 90,000 fine defaulters whose wanted status had been lifted.

According to the legal community on the 23rd, the prosecution issued wanted notices on the 2nd for those who failed to pay fines of 1 million won or more and for whom execution orders were issued. If a fine is not paid within the payment deadline, an execution order with the same effect as an arrest warrant is issued, and investigative agencies conduct wanted notices based on this execution order.

President Yoon Seok-yeol, during his tenure as Prosecutor General, on December 30, 2020, lifted the wanted notices for about 90,000 fine defaulters with fines under 10 million won and instructed all prosecutors' offices nationwide not to input new wanted notices for the time being. This measure was taken considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the large-scale outbreak of group infections within correctional facilities.

The prosecution, judging that the COVID-19 pandemic is somewhat subsiding, resumed inputting wanted notices for fine defaulters with fines of 1 million won or more as of the 2nd. They also reinstated wanted notices for fine defaulters with fines under 10 million won whose wanted status had been lifted about two years ago by President Yoon's directive.

The detailed procedures regarding the prosecution's issuance and lifting of wanted notices are stipulated in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office regulations titled 'Guidelines for Handling Wanted Notices (Notifications) and Lifting Procedures.' As of the 15th, the number of re-wanted cases due to fine default was 93,735, and the total number of wanted notices for unpaid fines was confirmed to be 104,487.

Once a wanted notice is issued, departure from any port nationwide is impossible, and individuals can be arrested during random inspections.

If a fine defaulter who is wanted is arrested and pays the full unpaid fine, they are immediately released; however, if the fine is not paid, they are detained in a labor camp and must substitute the fine by performing labor at a fixed daily rate.

Fines are usually payable through financial institutions, but if a person arrested as a wanted individual or detained in a labor camp wishes to have their family pay directly, prosecution staff responsible for the execution of property penalties may accept cash payments.

Article 69(1) of the Criminal Act stipulates that fines must be paid within 30 days from the date the judgment is finalized. Paragraph 2 of the same article provides that those who fail to pay fines shall be detained in a labor camp for a period ranging from 1 day to 3 years to perform labor.

Also, Article 70(1) of the Criminal Act requires that when a judge sentences a fine, the detention period for non-payment must be determined and pronounced simultaneously. Accordingly, when detained in a labor camp due to non-payment of fines, the fine amount is deducted proportionally to the number of detention days specified in the judgment.

However, if a fine defaulter arrested or summoned by an execution order is judged to be in poor health and unable to endure labor, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office regulations titled 'Guidelines on Installment Payments and Payment Deferrals for Patients and Others Regarding Fines,' prosecutors may permit installment payments or payment deferrals under Article 12 of the Ministry of Justice Ordinance 'Regulations on the Execution of Property Penalties,' if the obligor or their cohabiting family member requires long-term treatment or has other unavoidable reasons.