I was scammed in a second-hand transaction. What legal?

What the Law Says

South Korean law provides both criminal and civil remedies for victims of fraud in second-hand transactions. The key statutes define fraud as intentional deception causing financial loss and grant victims rights to cancel contracts and claim compensation.

Under the Criminal Act, fraud is defined as 'deceiving another person with intent to obtain unlawful profit or cause damage to another person, thereby inducing them to deliver property or a proprietary interest.' A conviction carries up to 10 years' imprisonment or a fine.

The Civil Act allows victims to cancel a contract induced by fraud within six months from when they discovered the fraud — and no later than five years from the date of the contract.

If the scam involves an online platform, the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection may impose additional duties on platform operators to verify seller information.

Statutory Text

A person who deceives another person with intent to obtain unlawful profit or cause damage to another person, thereby inducing him to deliver property or a proprietary interest, shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than ten years or a fine.

— Criminal Act, Art. 347 — Fraud

Statutory Text

A party who has entered into a juristic act as a result of fraud may cancel the act within six months from the time he became aware of the fraud, and in any case, within five years from the time the act was performed.

— Civil Act, Art. 110 — Cancellation due to fraud

What to Do

Sources