Speedy trial

Speedy trial (신속한 재판) means a principle that trial should be processed and closed in a speedy manner.

As Francis Bacon declared, "[F]resh justice is the sweetest." A legal axiom says, "Justice delayed, Justice denied." That' why the speedy trial is guaranteed by the Constitution.

Key words
speedy trial, Constitutional right,

Constitutional Background
Article 27 of the Constitution
 * (1) All citizens shall have the right to trial in conformity with the Act by judges qualified under the Constitution and the Act.
 * (2) Omitted
 * (3) All citizens shall have the right to a speedy trial. The accused shall have the right to a public trial without delay in the absence of justifiable reasons to the contrary.
 * (4), (5) Omitted

The above provision shows that a public trial has an exception requiring "in the absence of justifiable reasons to the contrary", while a speedy trial has no exception at all. The Constitutional Court held:
 * "The right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right ensured mainly to protect the interest of the accused and well grounded for the public interests such as pursuit of substantive truth, procedural economy, citizens' trust on judiciary judgment and attainment of the purpose of punishment . . . It is one of the most significant fundamental rights for the sake of the criminal judiciary system."

In reality, when the accused is held in custody, the criminal trial is speedy because of the limitation of confinement period. But he/she is not in custody, the trial proceeds very slowly on account of too heavy work load of the judgment panel and insufficient court rooms. In some cases, it might take close to one year to bring in a witness. How can the witness restore month-long or year-long memory vividly? It's impossible!

Speedy Trial in the Criminal Procedure
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the following key words are stipulated in the relevant article:
 * Concentration of the court authority;
 * Limitation of procedural period including the custody period;
 * Indictment based on prosecutor's expediency in Article 247(1);
 * Revocation of indictment in Article 255;
 * Statute of limitations in Article 249;
 * Judgment preparatory procedure in Article 266-5;
 * Concentration of trial in Article 267-2
 * Representative counsel in Article 32-2
 * Directorship of chief judge in Article 279;
 * Default judgment in Article 277-2
 * Consent to evidence in Article 318;
 * Summary judgment proceedings in Article 297-2
 * Summary procedure in Article 448; and
 * Summary court procedure under the Summary Justice Act (즉결심판법).

Also it should be noted that there is no appropriate remedy for a delayed trial, like e.g., mandatory closing of the case..

Speedy Trial in Civil Procedure
Under the Civil Procedure Act, the ex officio service of process, preliminary attachment and preliminary injunction, among others, ensure the speedy trial of civil cases.

Service of Process
The Korean court serves ex officio the complaint and pleading documents to the concerned parties via the national postal system. Article 174 of the Civil Procedure Act provides that "Unless otherwise provided in this Act, a service of process shall be effected by the court ex officio".

Preliminary Attachment and Injunction
Before the parties file civil suits with the court, the plaintiff may make a motion for pre-judgment preliminary attachment and/or injunction. As a matter of practice, this procedure is widely and frequently used in Korea.

Preliminary attachment orders are granted in connection with monetary claims. If the claimant makes a request for the court to freeze or attach the assets of the debtor, the court reviews only concerned documents submitted by the claimant without calling the other party (respondent) and grants an order of preliminary attachment. The court also orders the claimant to post security for damages to be inflicted upon the respondent by the ex parte nature of this procedure.

On the other hand, court orders of preliminary injunction are granted in connection with nonmonetary claims, including the claim for delivery of specific assets and other specific performance. If the claimant makes a request for the court to freeze or set the temporary state of affairs in regard to non-monetary claims, including disputed legal relations, the court reviews concerned documents submitted by the claimant. Unlike the preliminary attachment procedure, the court may, if necessary, call the other party (respondent). The court also orders the claimant to post security for damages to be inflicted upon the respondent by the ex parte and preliminary nature of this procedure. As far as intellectual property claims are concerned, the court generally summons the respondent because the order of preliminary injunction has a significant, and sometimes irrevocable, impact on the respondent.