Background
Our client is a company in Gyeonggi Province. An individual counterparty owed it KRW 23,743,440 but failed to pay. Through Law Firm Changchun, our client sued for the amount. Because the claim was under KRW 30 million, it proceeded as a small claims case, a simplified and faster procedure for modest disputes.
What Was at Stake
The question was whether our client could recover not only the principal but also delay damages, a form of interest compensating for late payment, for the period since November 2023.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun claimed the principal together with delay damages from November 1, 2023, divided into periods with different statutory rates. In March 2026 the court closed the hearing and delivered judgment on the same day, granting the claim exactly as filed.
Outcome
The first-instance court ordered the counterparty to pay KRW 23,743,440 with delay damages at 6% per year from November 1, 2023 to December 30, 2025, and 12% per year from the following day until full payment. The counterparty was ordered to bear the litigation costs, and the judgment was declared provisionally enforceable before becoming final.
Even when a debt is old, claiming delay damages from the due date allows a creditor to secure compensation for the entire period of late payment. (Outcomes depend on the facts of each case.)