Civil (small claims) Processing Time

A small-claims civil case for amounts up to 30 million won (the most common type of civil suit). Below is the average time from filing to judgment at each court level.

  1. 1First instancesmall-claimsabout 4.4 months(134.1d)
  2. 2AppealDistrict Court appellate divisionabout 10.8 months(327.5d)
  3. 3Final appealSupreme Court (small-claims included)about 3.3 months(99.9d)

Source Supreme Court of Korea, 2025 Judicial Yearbook (figures for 2024, checked 2026-09-03, 표29). Averages vary a lot by case.