Filing a Grievance Petition with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission — 60-Day Handling Period, Corrective Recommendations and Delayed Civil Petitions

Procedure

1. 1. Check whether the matter qualifies as a grievance petition

   First check whether the subject is an action, de facto act or omission of an administrative agency or an unreasonable system. Matters under another remedy procedure such as an administrative appeal or administrative lawsuit, rights settled by a judgment or ruling, private legal relationships between individuals, and personnel actions concerning public officials may be transferred to the agency concerned or dismissed. If the period for an administrative appeal against the action is still running, decide between a grievance petition and an administrative appeal together with the deadlines.

2. 2. Organize the facts and supporting materials

   Arrange official letters exchanged with the agency, the disposition notice, petition receipts and the dates of calls and meetings in date order, and separately write down the legal basis of the action and what is illegal or unfair in light of that law. If delay is the issue, put the receipt date, the published handling period and the actual number of days elapsed into a table. Number the evidence and link it to the text of the petition.

3. 3. Prepare the grievance petition

   State the petitioner's name and address (for a corporation or organization, its name, main office location and representative's name), the purpose and reasons of the petition, the underlying facts, the name of the agency concerned, whether a lawsuit or other remedy procedure has been filed, and any grievance petition filed with another commission. In the purpose section, describe the specific measure sought, such as cancellation of an action, payment of a usage fee or withdrawal of a document demand. If an agent files the petition, state the agent's personal details and relationship to the petitioner and prove the agent's qualification in writing.

4. 4. Receipt, investigation and submission of opinions

   When filed electronically through e-People or by visit or mail, the commission designates a case officer and notifies you, and after 30 days from receipt or at the petitioner's request it notifies the progress and expected completion date. The commission may request explanations and materials from the agency or carry out on-site investigations, and if it requests supplementation you must supplement within the deadline to avoid closure of the case. Before making a corrective recommendation or expressing an opinion, the commission gives the petitioner an opportunity to submit opinions, so submit additional materials at that point.

5. 5. Notice of decision and checking the outcome

   The commission notifies the decision to the petitioner and the agency concerned. An agency that receives a corrective recommendation, opinion or system improvement recommendation must respect it and report the outcome to the commission within 30 days, and if it does not follow a recommendation it must give its reasons in writing. The commission passes this report on to the petitioner, so decide on the next step after reviewing the notice.

Required documents

• Grievance petition (no statutory form; a document stating the entries required by Article 39, Paragraph 2 of the Act and Article 35, Paragraph 2 of its Enforcement Decree, or an electronic application through e-People)
• Copies of the disposition notice, decision notice or reply letter
• Petition receipt or receipt number and materials showing the handling period (where delay is the issue)
• Evidence of the facts (photos, contracts, receipts, medical records and so on, depending on the case)
• Materials summarizing the legal basis of the action and the points of illegality or unfairness
• Document appointing an agent and proof of the agent's qualification (where an agent files)
• Representative identification documents for a corporation or organization

Fees

Typically in the range of several hundred thousand won in the industry · Quoted after consultation depending on the number of issues, the volume of materials exchanged with the agency, and whether opinion submissions or supplementary documents are also prepared. There is no fee for filing a grievance petition.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 2
• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 39
• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 41
• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 42
• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 43
• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 46
• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 48
• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 50
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 35
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 39
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 42
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 50
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Article 51
• Enforcement Decree of the Civil Petitions Treatment Act, Article 17
• Administrative Appeals Act, Article 27

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-13

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Filing a grievance petition does not stop the period for an administrative appeal or administrative lawsuit, so if you want to challenge an action, manage the appeal deadline separately, such as 90 days from the date you became aware of the action.
• If you do not supplement within the period after receiving a supplementation request, the commission may close the case by decision, so check the deadline in the request.

Frequently asked questions