Fine
Overview
A fine is a property punishment (재산형) under criminal law and special laws, where the state orders a criminal to pay a certain amount of money. As a type of punishment, it is most commonly used alongside imprisonment (징역·금고) and is primarily applied to relatively minor crimes or economic crimes. Fines serve the functions of deterring crime, retribution, and recovering illicit gains from criminals. In civil law countries, including South Korea, fines are stipulated as a major sanction in criminal law, with their amounts and imposition criteria detailed by law.
Main Content
1. Legal Nature of Fines
Fines belong to property punishment among penalties, with the essence of imposing a financial burden on the criminal. Unlike imprisonment, they do not deprive physical freedom but aim to deter crime through economic sanctions. Fines are distinguished from minor fines (과료), where minor fines are light monetary sanctions ranging from 2,000 won to less than 500,000 won, while fines are set at 500,000 won or more with a statutory maximum (Article 45 of the Criminal Act). Additionally, fines can be imposed alongside confiscation (몰수) or additional collection (추징) and are a type of punishment that can be combined (병과).
2. Types and Imposition Methods of Fines
- Simple Fine: A general form where the court sets and sentences a fixed amount.
- Day-Fine System (일수벌금제): A method that determines the daily fine amount and total number of days considering the criminal's economic capacity. Implemented in Germany, Switzerland, etc., South Korea has been considering its introduction for some crimes since 2023.
- Summary Order Fine: A method where the prosecutor requests a summary order from the court for relatively minor cases to impose a fine. It becomes final if the defendant does not object.
- Difference from Administrative Fines (과태료): Administrative fines are sanctions for violations of administrative order, not criminal penalties, and are imposed by administrative agencies, not courts.
3. Execution of Fines and Handling of Non-Payment
Fines must be paid within 30 days after the sentence becomes final. If not paid within the deadline, compulsory execution is carried out under the prosecutor's execution order. Main compulsory execution methods include:
- Detention in a Workhouse (노역장 유치): If a fine is not paid, the person is detained in a workhouse for a certain period to substitute with labor. The daily conversion amount is set at 100,000 won or more, with a maximum detention period of up to 3 years (Article 70 of the Criminal Act).
- Seizure of Assets: Seizure and collection of wages, deposits, real estate, etc.
- Installment Payment: The court may permit installment payments considering economic circumstances.
4. Sentencing Criteria for Fines
The court determines the fine amount by comprehensively considering the severity of the crime, extent of damage, the criminal's economic capacity, criminal record, etc. The Supreme Court Sentencing Commission of South Korea provides recommended fine ranges for each crime type, for example:
- Violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Traffic Accidents (injury): 1 million to 5 million won
- Fraud (under 30 million won): 2 million to 10 million won
- Assault (no injury): 500,000 to 3 million won
5. Fines under Special Laws
- Road Traffic Act: Driving under the influence (blood alcohol concentration of 0.03% or more) results in a fine of up to 5 million won.
- Occupational Safety and Health Act: In case of serious accidents, corporations may face fines of up to 1 billion won.
- Customs Act: Smuggling results in fines of up to 5 times the value of the goods.
- Punishment of Tax Evaders Act: Tax evasion results in fines of up to 3 times the evaded amount.
Recent Trends
As of 2024–2025, the fine system is undergoing the following changes:
- Discussion on Introducing the Day-Fine System: The Ministry of Justice of South Korea has been promoting the introduction of the day-fine system since October 2024 to alleviate economic inequality. This method calculates fines based on the criminal's daily income, imposing higher fines on the wealthy.
- Reduction of Detention Period in Workhouses for Fine Defaulters: With the enforcement of the revised Criminal Act in March 2025, the upper limit of detention in workhouses was reduced from 3 years to 2 years, and the daily conversion amount was raised from 100,000 won to 150,000 won.
- Expansion of Electronic Payment System: Since 2024, court fine payments have become possible via card, bank transfer, and simple payment, increasing the payment rate by 15%.
- AI-Based Sentencing Prediction: The AI sentencing system piloted by the Supreme Court in 2025 analyzes past precedents to recommend fine amounts, contributing to reducing sentencing disparities.
- International Cases: Germany fully revised its day-fine system in 2024, raising the daily fine upper limit to 30,000 euros, and France introduced fines of up to 10 million euros for environmental crimes starting in 2025.
Related Topics
- [[Punishment]]
- [[Minor Fine]]
- [[Confiscation]]
- [[Detention in a Workhouse]]
- [[Sentencing Criteria]]
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