Winning a case and getting paid are two different problems

Attachment, Enforcement & Fraud Recovery Matters We Handle

1. Provisional Attachment · Provisional Injunction — Freezing the other party's assets before the lawsuitMoney claims are preserved by provisional attachment, and rights to specific property, such as ownership or delivery of real estate, are preserved by injunctions prohibiting disposal or transfer of possession. You must make a prima facie showing that the claim exists and that preservation is necessary, and provide the security set by the court.Provisional attachment of bank deposits, real estate, wages, and lease deposit refund claims · Injunctions prohibiting disposal or transfer of possession · Showing the right to be preserved and the need for preservation · Preparing security (court deposit or guarantee insurance)
2. Civil Recovery for Fraud Victims — We plan the criminal complaint and civil claim togetherFor money lost to fraud, you can claim tort damages against the perpetrator and others involved, and in the criminal trial you can apply for a restitution order. A damages claim arising from an intentional tort is not discharged even if the perpetrator goes through bankruptcy and receives a discharge.Tracing the flow of funds and identifying the other party · Provisional attachment followed by a damages lawsuit · Applying for a restitution order in the criminal trial · Reviewing the liability of accomplices and account holders
3. Finding Assets After Judgment — Asset disclosure · asset search · list of defaulting debtorsA creditor holding an enforceable title can ask the court to order the debtor to disclose assets. If the disclosed assets are insufficient or the debtor does not comply, the creditor can apply for an asset search through financial institutions and other bodies.Application for asset disclosure · Searches of financial assets, real estate, and vehicles · Registration on the list of defaulting debtors · Obtaining the execution clause and certificate of service
4. Compulsory Enforcement — Actually collecting from deposits, wages, and real estateFor deposits or wages, after a claim is attached you obtain a collection order or an assignment order and receive payment directly from the bank or employer. Real estate and vehicles are sold at auction and you receive a distribution from the proceeds.Attachment of claims with collection or assignment orders · Applications for compulsory auction of real estate · Demands for distribution and objections to distribution · Seizure of movable property
5. Revocation of Fraudulent Transfers — Bringing back assets that were moved awayIf a debtor transferred assets to family members or others knowing that this would harm creditors, you can seek revocation of that act and restoration of the property. Giving up one's share in an agreement dividing an estate while insolvent can also be a fraudulent act.Proving insolvency and intent to harm creditors · Managing the 1-year deadline from learning of the grounds for revocation · Injunction against disposal by the transferee · Claims for restoration (cancellation of registration or payment of value)

1. Preservation Measures: Provisional Attachment and Provisional Injunction

The applicant must make a prima facie showing of the right to be preserved (that money is owed) and the need for preservation (that enforcement will be difficult unless assets are frozen now). The court usually orders security, and instead of a cash deposit, a guarantee insurance policy (court-deposit guarantee insurance) is often used. Conditional claims and claims with a future due date can also be provisionally attached (Article 276(2)).

A provisional attachment is a temporary measure, so you must obtain a judgment in the main lawsuit. If the debtor applies for an order to file suit, you must prove within the set period (at least 2 weeks) that the main lawsuit has been filed; if you do not, the provisional attachment is revoked (Article 287). A provisional attachment also interrupts the limitation period (Article 168(2) of the Civil Act).

2. How Fraud Losses Are Recovered

1. Right after the loss: If it is telecommunications financial fraud (such as voice phishing), apply to the financial institution for a payment suspension and damage relief, and secure the other party's account and identity details.
2. Preservation: Once the other party is identified, first apply for provisional attachment of deposits and real estate.
3. Criminal proceedings: Along with a fraud complaint, once an indictment is filed and the criminal trial begins, you can apply for a restitution order. A restitution order is available when the amount of damage is specific and liability is clear, and you cannot apply if a damages claim for the same loss is already pending in another proceeding (Articles 25(3) and 26(7) of the Legal Proceedings Expedition Act). An application for restitution has the same effect as filing a civil lawsuit (Article 26(8)).
4. Civil lawsuit: If a restitution order is difficult to obtain, or there are other liable persons such as accomplices or account holders, file a tort damages lawsuit (Article 750 of the Civil Act). The limitation period is 3 years from learning of the loss and the wrongdoer, and 10 years from the date of the tort (Article 766).
5. Enforcement: Enforce through the judgment or the final restitution order. A damages claim for an intentional tort remains even if the perpetrator receives a discharge (Article 566(3) of the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act).

3. Finding Assets and Enforcing After Judgment

• Asset disclosure (Article 61): A creditor who can start compulsory enforcement with an enforceable title for payment of money applies for asset disclosure to the court of the debtor's general venue. Judgments with a declaration of provisional enforcement are excluded.
• Asset search (Article 74): If the disclosure procedure cannot proceed because the debtor's address is unknown, the submitted list of assets is insufficient, or the debtor failed to appear on the disclosure date or submitted a false list, the court searches financial institutions and public bodies for assets in the debtor's name. You must specify the institutions to be searched and pay the costs in advance.
• List of defaulting debtors (Article 70): If the debtor does not pay within 6 months after the enforceable title becomes final, you can apply to have the debtor registered.
• Turning claims into cash (Article 229): For an attached money claim, you obtain a collection order (the creditor collects directly) or an assignment order (the claim itself is transferred). An assignment order has no effect if another creditor attached the claim before it was served on the third-party debtor, and it takes effect only once final.

4. Revocation of Fraudulent Transfers

If a debtor, knowing it would harm creditors, enters into a juristic act concerning property rights (a gift, a sale at a low price, granting security, etc.), the creditor may seek its revocation and restoration of the property. However, revocation is not available if the person who benefited did not know at that time that creditors would be harmed (Article 406(1) of the Civil Act). The action must be filed within 1 year from learning of the grounds for revocation, and within 5 years from the date of the juristic act (Article 406(2)).

An agreement dividing an estate can also be a fraudulent act. If an insolvent heir gives up their inheritance share through such an agreement and the common security available to creditors is reduced, this is in principle a fraudulent act, and the result is not different merely because it resembles a renunciation of inheritance. By contrast, a renunciation of inheritance filed with and accepted by the family court is a personal decision that removes the person's status as heir altogether, so it cannot be revoked as a fraudulent act. The two situations must be distinguished.

Key Court Decisions

Supreme Court Decision 2024Da208315, decided May 30, 2024

Where an insolvent debtor gave up an inheritance share in real estate, effectively the debtor's only asset, through an agreement dividing the estate and thereby reduced the common security of general creditors, this is a fraudulent act, and it cannot be viewed differently on the ground that the agreement had the same result as a renunciation of inheritance.

Supreme Court Decision 2011Da29307, decided June 9, 2011

A renunciation of inheritance is in the nature of a personal decision that extinguishes the status of heir itself, so it is not a juristic act concerning property rights under Article 406 of the Civil Act and cannot be revoked as a fraudulent act.

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Written on the basis of Korean statutes in force (National Law Information Center, Ministry of Government Legislation) and court precedents as of October 20, 2026. Results may differ with amendments to the law or the facts of each case. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Written and reviewed by Attorney Dongwoo Shin — Ph.D. in Law; certified criminal law specialist and certified divorce law specialist registered with the Korean Bar Association. He handles each case personally from consultation to judgment. About the attorney →
Last updated October 20, 2026