Supreme Court rules on evidence concealment by accomplices

The Supreme Court of Korea has ruled that an individual cannot be convicted of instigating evidence concealment if the accomplice involved was also acting to protect themselves from criminal punishment.

The case involved a defendant, identified as A, who was involved in a fraudulent part-time job scam. While returning from Laos, A sensed imminent arrest and instructed an accomplice, B, to hide a mobile phone and deliver it to A's mother.

Under Article 155 of the Criminal Act, punishment is reserved for those who destroy or conceal evidence related to the criminal or disciplinary proceedings of another person. The court determined that if an accomplice performs such an act because they themselves fear criminal consequences, it is considered “self-concealment of evidence” and is not punishable.

Consequently, because B's actions could be interpreted as self-protection, the court ruled that A could not be held liable for instigating evidence concealment, though the original one-year prison sentence for fraud was upheld.