Letters Rogatory and Depositions in Korea: Navigating International Evidence Requests
Good Pine P.C. | International Litigation · Cross-Border Evidence | New York · New Jersey
A Practical Guide for U.S. Litigants and Counsel
American-style discovery cannot be conducted freely in South Korea. Private parties — including foreign attorneys — cannot compel testimony or document production on Korean soil. U.S. litigants who need evidence from Korea must request assistance through formal diplomatic channels governed by the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (the "Hague Evidence Convention").
Both the United States and the Republic of Korea are parties to the Convention. The procedures are designed to ensure judicial cooperation while respecting national sovereignty — and they leave little room for improvisation. A misstep at any stage can render the evidence inadmissible or require the process to begin again.
Understanding Letters Rogatory
A Letter Rogatory is a formal request from one court to another across national borders, asking for judicial assistance in obtaining evidence. In the U.S.–Korea context, a U.S. court asks a Korean court to obtain testimony, documents, or other evidence on its behalf. Letters Rogatory are the primary vehicle when a witness or relevant evidence is located in Korea, when the U.S. court lacks jurisdiction to compel discovery abroad, and when the requesting party needs evidence that will be legally admissible at trial.
Because the request is a communication between courts — not between lawyers — the language must be formal, precise, and deferential. Requests that are vague, overbroad, or improperly framed are routinely declined or returned without action.
The Hague Evidence Convention Framework
The Hague Evidence Convention streamlines the traditional Letters Rogatory process by creating direct channels between designated Central Authorities in each country. In Korea, the Central Authority is the Ministry of Justice, International Civil Affairs Division. In the United States, it is the Office of International Judicial Assistance (OIJA) within the Department of Justice.
The flow is as follows: the U.S. court issues the Letter Rogatory, which is transmitted to the OIJA. The OIJA forwards it to the Korean Ministry of Justice, which routes it to the appropriate Korean district court for execution. Results are returned through the same channel. At no point does a U.S. attorney interact directly with the Korean court — all communication travels through the designated governmental intermediaries.
Depositions in Korea: Strictly Regulated
South Korea does not permit private depositions to be taken on its territory by foreign attorneys or court reporters. This prohibition applies even if all participants are U.S. citizens and the deposition is entirely voluntary. Conducting such activity without prior authorization can violate Korean law and jeopardize the admissibility of anything obtained.
A narrow exception exists: depositions may take place within the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Seoul, but only where the deponent is a U.S. citizen or willing participant, Korean government permission has been obtained, and no compulsory process against a Korean national is involved. In practice, this means that any deposition of an unwilling Korean witness must proceed through the Korean court system via the Letters Rogatory process — there is no direct alternative.
Step-by-Step: Requesting Evidence from Korea
The process moves through five stages. First, prepare the Letter Rogatory — identify the court, case number, and purpose, specify precisely what testimony or documents are sought, and use appropriately formal language suited to a court-to-court communication. Second, translate all documents into Korean; Korea requires a complete Korean translation of the Letter Rogatory and all exhibits. Third, submit the packet to the OIJA, which forwards it to the Korean Ministry of Justice. Fourth, the Korean court executes the request — summoning the witness if necessary, conducting questioning under Korean judicial procedure, and preparing a transcript or certified document set. Fifth, the Korean court returns the evidence and an official certificate through the same diplomatic channel to the originating U.S. court.
Each stage involves government intermediaries in two countries. A deficiency at any step — an untranslated exhibit, an imprecise request, a missing case caption — can halt the process without notification.
Timeline and Practical Considerations
From submission to receipt of evidence, the process typically takes six to twelve months. Delays arise from translation review, address verification, Korean court scheduling, and the slow pace of diplomatic correspondence. Translation, notarization, and court handling fees vary by matter but can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Korean courts may also limit the scope of questioning or document production if the request conflicts with local privacy protections or evidentiary rules.
These timelines are not negotiable through persistence. The only reliable way to accelerate the process is to submit a complete, precise, and properly translated packet at the outset.
Alternatives and Their Limitations
Where a Korean witness is willing to cooperate, voluntary affidavits or informal interviews may serve as a practical alternative. However, such statements typically carry less evidentiary weight than court-obtained testimony and may face admissibility challenges at trial. They are a supplement to, not a substitute for, the formal process when the evidence is material to the case.
U.S. litigants should not attempt to serve subpoenas or conduct depositions privately on Korean soil. Such actions can violate Korean law, expose counsel to sanctions, and render any evidence obtained inadmissible. The short-term convenience is not worth the risk to the case.
Strategic Recommendations
Four principles govern effective use of this process. Start early — Letters Rogatory are inherently slow, and the process should be initiated at the beginning of the discovery period, not after domestic discovery is complete. Be precise — narrow, specific requests are more likely to be granted in full; broad requests invite partial rejection or judicial modification that may leave critical gaps. Budget realistically — translation and international processing costs should be factored into the overall discovery plan from the outset. Work bilingually — Korean counsel can verify witness addresses, clarify procedural expectations at the local court level, and anticipate grounds for refusal before the packet is submitted.
Conclusion
Obtaining testimony or evidence from Korea under the Hague Evidence Convention is a structured, government-to-government process that rewards preparation and punishes improvisation. While slower than domestic discovery, the formal channel ensures that evidence gathered abroad is valid, admissible, and consistent with Korean law — and preserves the integrity of any judgment or settlement that follows.
Good Pine P.C. assists U.S. litigants and law firms in navigating the Letters Rogatory process, embassy depositions, and Korean court evidence requests. From New York and New Jersey, we provide bilingual coordination across both legal systems to help ensure that cross-border evidence collection is done right the first time.
