Victim of 'Busan Dolryeochagi' Unable to Receive 100 Million Won Compensation Despite Court Ruling... "Seizure of Confiscated Funds Difficult"

Although the Plaintiff Won the Case by 'Deemed Confession'
The Victim Faces Difficulty Even Checking the Inmate Earnings Balance

Although a 100 million won compensation ruling was made against the perpetrator of the 'Busan Dolleochagi' incident, it is known that the victim is having difficulty receiving compensation because even the seizure of the inmate's earnings is difficult due to system limitations.

The Busan District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in October last year in a 100 million won damages claim lawsuit filed by the victim against the perpetrator, Mr. Lee. At that time, the court judged that the defendant Lee never appeared in court during the lawsuit process and did not submit any statements, thus making a 'deemed confession' by accepting all the plaintiff's claims and granted the full amount claimed by the plaintiff.

CCTV footage from the Busan spinning kick incident. Photo by Yonhap News

However, despite the court's confirmed compensation ruling, it is known that the process of seizing or enforcing the defendant's assets is not smooth. The victim told Yonhap News Agency, "I knew I would not receive the full amount anyway, but I started the damages claim lawsuit to understand the reality that inmate earnings are seized and delivered to crime victims," adding, "Although society emphasizes restorative justice, after the trial ends, all the burden actually falls on the victim." He also said, "I am afraid of how many calls I will have to make over the next 20 years to inquire about the inmate earnings," and pointed out, "Since inmate earnings are money that victims should naturally receive when a seizure order is issued, alternatives such as establishing a related online system are necessary."

In principle, seizure of inmate earnings is possible if the perpetrator is serving time in a correctional facility. Accordingly, the victim of the Busan Dolleochagi incident also submitted an application for seizure and collection order of inmate earnings to the competent court after the civil ruling and obtained a seizure decision. However, it is known that each time, the inmate earnings balance can only be checked by calling the person in charge of inmate earnings management within the correctional facility and providing the inmate number, and various required documents such as a copy of the bankbook and ID card must be sent by fax through a procedural process.

Although the inmate earnings balance can be checked through the Ministry of Justice's online civil service, this is only allowed for civil petitioners designated by the inmate. Therefore, in cases like Mr. Lee's where the inmate refuses, disclosure is blocked. Also, since inmate earnings are limited to a maximum of 3 million won per person, if the damages amount is large, this procedure must be repeated multiple times.

The 'Busan Dolleochagi' incident occurred around 5 a.m. on May 22, 2022, when the perpetrator Mr. Lee chased the victim for about 10 minutes with the intent to sexually assault the victim who was returning home in Seomyeon, Busanjin-gu, and then assaulted the victim at the office-tel's main entrance. Mr. Lee was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Supreme Court last year.