Ministry of Justice Urges Use of Video Notarization System... Limited Allowance for Correctional Facility Visits

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is delivering opening remarks at a press conference held on the 11th at the Gyeonggi Government Gwacheon Complex. / Gwacheon = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Ministry of Justice urged the public to actively utilize the 'Video Notarization System,' which allows notarization online as part of social distancing policies to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 27th, the Ministry of Justice explained, "Recently, some countries in Europe and Southeast Asia have imposed movement restrictions, making it difficult for overseas Koreans to visit diplomatic missions and obtain notarization," adding, "By using the currently implemented Video Notarization System, notarization can be issued without visiting the diplomatic mission."

Notarization is a system that certifies the existence of certain facts or legal relationships to preserve evidence related to various transactions in daily life and to facilitate the exercise of rights by the rights holder. The Video Notarization System was introduced in 2018.

To receive video notarization, one must access the Ministry of Justice's electronic notarization system website using a computer with a webcam or a smartphone and complete identity verification procedures.

Afterwards, by conducting a real-time interview with a notary via video call, notarization can be obtained on electronic documents.

Additionally, from this day, the Ministry of Justice decided to partially allow visits by civil petitioners to detention centers and prisons, which had been completely suspended until now.

Pretrial detainees and inmates classified as security treatment grades S1 and S2 are allowed one visitor per week.

Inmate security treatment grades are classified from S1 to S4 through a classification review considering sentence length and criminal record. The higher the number, the stricter the management of the inmate.

Attorney visits, which were conducted in general visiting rooms equipped with partitions, will now be allowed in the attorney visiting rooms as before. However, both attorneys and inmates must have their temperatures checked before the visit and wear masks during the visit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.