Part  VII-I The Bargaining Process

Article 455-2(Application for the Bargaining Process)
Except for those who have committed a offense which is punishable for sentence of capital punishment, life imprisonment, sentence more than three years, or is adjudicated by the court of appeal as the court of first instance, once a case has been prosecuted by a prosecutor or applied for a summary judgment, after consulting with the victim's opinion the prosecutor may, before the close of oral arguments in the court of first instance or before the summary judgment, act on his/her own discretion or upon requests by the defendant, his/her agent or attorney, which has been approved by the court, to negotiate the following items outside the trial procedure; once both parties involved reach an agreement and the defendant pleads guilty, the prosecutor may request the court to make judgment pursuant to the bargaining process.
1. The defendant accepts the scope of sentence or accepts the sentence to be placed under probation.
2. The defendant shall apologize to the victim.
3. The defendant shall pay a certain amount of compensation.
4. The defendant shall pay a certain amount to the government treasury, designated public interest organizations, or local autonomous organizations.
The prosecutor shall obtain the victim’s consent before negotiating with the defendant on items listed in Subparagraph 2 or 3 of the preceding paragraph.
The bargaining period mentioned in Paragraph 1 shall not exceed 30 days.

Article 455-3(Cancel the Bargaining)
The court shall question a defendant and inform him/her the offence he/she admitted, its statutory penalty, and all rights he waived within 10 days after receiving a request in the preceding article.
A defendant may withdraw the bargaining agreement at any time before the preceding procedure terminates. Where a defendant violates his/her agreement with the prosecutor, the latter may revoke the request for plea bargain.

Article 455-4(No Bargaining Judgment)
The court may not pronounce a bargaining judgment under the following circumstances:
1. Where the agreement is withdrawn or where requests for bargaining is revoked pursuant Paragraph 2 of the preceding article;
2. Where the bargain was not made out of defendant’s free will;
3. Where the bargaining agreement is obviously inappropriate or unfair;
4. Where defendant’s offence may not subject to a bargaining judgment pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 455-2;
5. Where facts established by the court are different from facts agreed in the bargaining process;
6. Where a defendant commits other counts of offense which were arose by the same act in trial with heavier punishments;
7. Where the court deems proper to pronounce punishment remitted, exemption from prosecution, or case dismissed.
The court shall adjudicate the case within the scope of bargaining agreement without oral argument, except for circumstances specified in the preceding paragraph. The sentence pronounced by court under a bargaining judgment is limited to a suspension of sentence, limited imprisonment under 2 years, detention, or a fine.
The court shall put down in records or the written judgment if the parties reach an agreement specified in Subparagraphs 2 to 4 of Paragraph 1 of Article 455-2.
Where the court pronounces a judgment pursuant to the bargaining, Subparagraphs 3 and 4 of Paragraph 1 of Article 455-2 can be the cause for civil compulsory execution.

Article 455-5(Appointing a Public Defender)
If a defendant is willing to undertake an imprisonment longer than 6 months not subject to a suspension of sentence and has no defense attorney, the court shall appoint a public defender or lawyer to be his/her defense attorney, in order to assist the bargaining.
A defense attorney may express opinions of law and facts during the bargaining process; however, such opinions may not contradict the defendant’s expressed opinion.

Article 455-6(Overrule by Ruling)
The court shall overrule by ruling a request for bargaining pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 455-2 if the court believes that circumstances under Paragraph 1 of Article 455-4 applies; then the common procedure, summary trial proceeding, or summary judgment shall apply.
One may not file an interlocutory appeal against ruling in the preceding paragraph.

Article 455-7(Statements in the Bargaining Process may not be Evidence against Interests of the Defendant or Co-defendants)
If a court fail to reach a bargaining judgment, statements by a defendant, his agent, or defense attorney during the bargaining process may not be used as evidence against interests of the defendant or co-defendants in this or other cases.

Article 455-8(Production and Service of Written Bargaining Judgment)
The production and service of written bargaining judgment shall apply mutatis mutandis Articles 454 and 455.

Article 455-9(Law Application and Effect of Judgment Record and Service)
For a bargaining judgment, the clerk may record the syllabus of the decision, summarized facts of an offense, and articles of the punishment on the judgment record to substitute a written judgment; provided that where a party requests the court to serve a written judgment within 10 days after the pronouncement of judgment, the court shall still produce the written judgment.
The service of the official record or its abbreviated copy shall apply mutatis mutandis Article 455 and has the same effect as the service of the written judgment.

Article 455-10(Exception to No Appeals)
A sentence made pursuant this Part is not appealable; provided that this rule does not apply to circumstances specified in Subparagraphs 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 of Paragraph 1 of Article 455-4, or where a bargaining judgment violates Paragraph 2 of the said article.
Investigation by the court of second instance is limited to items listed in the reasons for appeal, where an appeal is made pursuant to the proviso of the preceding paragraph.
The court of second instance, upon finding an appeal meritorious, shall set aside the original judgment and remand the case to the court of first instance to retrial the case following the procedure prior to the judgment.

Article 455-11(Bargaining Judgment apply mutatis mutandis rules for Appeal)
An appeal for a bargaining judgment, except otherwise stipulated in this Part, shall apply mutatis mutandis Chapters I and II of Part III.
Paragraph 1 of Article 159 and Article 284-1 do not apply to the bargaining process.