On October 16, 2026, the Guidelines on Procedures for Handling Applications for Criminal Leniency in Cartel Cases (Public Prosecution Office Established Rule No. 183), which govern criminal leniency in cartel cases, were amended. The amended guidelines apply to criminal leniency applications filed with the Public Prosecution Office on or after October 2, 2026.
Previously, the criminal leniency procedures were operated under the Guidelines on Criminal Leniency and Investigation Procedures in Cartel Cases (Supreme Prosecutors' Office Established Rule No. 1471). The amendment at this time revises certain aspects of the criminal leniency procedures and their effects in light of the launch of the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
The key changes and additions introduced by the amended Public Prosecution Office guidelines are as follows:
(i) All cartels, including soft-core cartels, are now eligible for criminal leniency applications (Article 2, Item 1).
(ii) The Serious Crimes Division of the Public Prosecution Office is designated as the authority receiving criminal leniency applications and supplementary submissions (Article 3(1) and Article 4(5)).
(iii) The procedure by which the Public Prosecution Office issues confirmation of the date and time of receipt of a criminal leniency application is specified (Article 3(4) and Article 14).
(iv) The procedures for review of applications and supplementary submissions by the dedicated fair trade unit of the Seoul Central District Public Prosecution Office, and for submission of the review results to the Public Prosecution Office, are specified (Article 3(5) and Article 14).
(v) The procedure by which the Public Prosecution Office issues a provisional ranking of leniency applications is specified (Article 3(6) and Article 14).
(vi) New requirements are introduced under which a company may be recognized as having fulfilled its duty of good-faith cooperation even where some of its officers or employees fail to cooperate (Article 8(3)).
(vii) A "conditional suspension of indictment" system is newly introduced for granting exemption from indictment to the first-in applicant (Article 10(2)), and the sentencing reduction recommended for the second-in applicant is changed to between one-third and two-thirds (Article 10(4)).
(viii) New procedures are introduced for confirming the facts and hearing the views of the investigative authority before a decision on criminal leniency is made (Article 10(7) and (8)).
(ix) A new provision excludes the second-in applicant from reduction in cartels involving three companies (Article 11(4)).
With these changes to key provisions of the guidelines on cartel criminal leniency procedures, significant changes in practice are expected.
