Korean Law in English
Laws › Criminal Act › SECTION 1 Commission of Crime and Mitigation or Exemption of Sentence

Criminal Act — Article 22 (Necessity)

형법 제22조

This English translation is based on the Korean text effective 2023-08-08. The Korean law has since been amended (current version effective 2026-10-02) — check the Korean original.

(1) An act which is performed in order to avoid impending danger against the one's own or another person's legal interest shall not be punishable when there are reasonable grounds.

(2) The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply to a person charged with duties not to avoid the danger.

(3) The provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of the preceding Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to this Article.

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