A party who disagrees with the judgment of a lower court may appeal to the appellate court.
Where a private prosecutor loses his legal capacity or is deceased prior to the conclusion of the argument, an appeal may be filed by a person who may file a private prosecution in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 319.
Where a complainant or a victim disagrees with the judgment of a lower court, he/she may state the reasons and request the public prosecutor to file an appeal.
A prosecutor may file an appeal for the interests of the defendant.
In a case where the death penalty is imposed, the original trial court shall sua sponte transfer the case to the appellate court, no matter whether an appeal is filed or not. The parties shall be informed of the transfer of the case.
Under the circumstance specified in the preceding paragraph, it is deemed that a defendant has filed an appeal.

(Right to Appeal (II) – Independent Appeal)
Parents or spouse of a defendant may appeal independently for interests of the defendant.

(Right to Appeal (III) – Representative Appeal)
An agent or defense attorney in the original trial may appeal for interests of the defendant; provided that it may not be contrary to defendant’s express will.

(Right to Appeal (IV) – Prosecutor in Private Prosecutions)
A prosecutor may appeal independently for judgments in private prosecutions.

(Scope of Appeal)
The appeal may be brought against part of the judgment; if fails to specify the part appealed, it is considered as an appeal in whole.
Relevant parts of the partial judgment appealed are considered as appealed.

An appeal shall be filed within 20 days from the day on which the judgment is served. The preceding provision does not affect an appeal filed after the judgment is pronounced but before its service, which shall be valid.

(Appeal Process)
Appeals shall be brought to the original trial court with a written petition.
Copies of the written appeal shall be made in accordance with the number of opposing party.

(Appeals by Defendants in a Prison or Detention Center)
Where a defendant in a prison or detention center submits a written appeal to the officer in charge of such prison or detention center during the period for appeal, it is deemed to have appealed within the period for appeal.
Where a defendant could not prepare a written appeal, officers in the prison or detention center shall prepare such written appeal for the defendant.
Once the officer in charge of the prison or detention center receives a written appeal, he/she shall specify the time, date, month, and year of such reception and deliver it to the original trial court.
Where a defendant’s written appeal is not filed to the officer of a prison or detention center, the clerk of the original trial court shall notify such officer after receiving the written appeal.

(Service of Copies of the Written Petition)
A clerk of the original trial court shall serve copies of the written petition promptly to the opposing party.

(Waiver of the Right to Appeal)
A party may waiver his/her right to appeal.

(Appeal Withdrawal)
Appeals may be withdrawn before the judgment is made; the same rule shall apply to cases remanded to the original trial court by the court of third instance or cases remanded to other courts of the same level as the original trial court.

(Restrictions to Appeal Withdrawal (I) – Defendant’s Consent)
An appeal for interests of the defendant may not be withdrawn without consent of the defendant.

(Restrictions to Appeal Withdrawal (II) – Prosecutor’s Consent)
An appeal made by a private prosecutor may not be withdrawn without consent of the prosecutor.

(Jurisdiction for Appeal Waiver or Withdrawal)
A waiver of appeal rights shall be filed to the original trial court.
An appeal withdrawal shall be filed to the appellate court; provided that it could be filed to the original trial court before dossier of the case are handed over to the appellate court.

(Process for Appeal Waiver or Withdrawal)
An appeal waiver or withdrawal shall be made in writing, provided that it may be verbally initiated in the presence of the court on the trial date.
Article 351 shall apply mutatis mutandis where a defendant waivers the right to appeal or withdraws the appeal.

(Effect of an Appeal Waiver or Withdrawal)
Those who waiver or withdraw an appeal lose the right to appeal.

(Notice for Appeal Waiver or Withdrawal)
A clerk shall notify the opposing party promptly in case of an appeal waiver or withdrawal.

(Jurisdiction for Appeal in the Second Instance)
A person who disagrees with a judgment of first instance made by a district court shall file an appeal to the court of appeal with jurisdiction of the second instance.
A written petition of appeal shall set forth specific ground of reasons.
A person who fails to set forth ground of reasons in a written petition of appeal shall submit ground of reasons in writing to the original trial court within 20 days since the appeal period lapses. The original trail court shall set a period for those who fail to submit written ground of reasons in the specified period to correct the defect.

(Original Trial Court’s Disposition against Illegal Appeals - Overrule by a Ruling or Order Amendment)
The original trial court shall, by a ruling, immediately overrule an appeal if it does not comply with legal formality, or if it shall not be granted as a matter of law, or if the right to appeal has lapsed; provided that where the deficiency in legal formality is amendable, the court shall order an amendment to be made within a prescribed period.

(Transfer of Files, Exhibits and Defendant in a Prison or Detention Center)
Except for situations listed in the preceding article, the original trial court shall promptly transfer of dossier and exhibits to the court of second instance.
Where a defendant is in a detention center or prison other than the location of court of second instance, the original trial court shall send such defendant to a detention center or prison where the court of second instance is located and notify such court.

(Apply Mutatis Mutandis Procedure of First Instance)
Unless otherwise provided in this Chapter, the trial of second instance shall apply mutatis mutandis the procedure of first instance.

(Appellant States the Appeal Purport)
After a presiding judge questions a defendant pursuant to Article 94, the judge shall order the appellant to state the purport of appeal.

(Scope of Investigation in the Second Instance)
The court of second instance shall investigate the parts of original judgment which have been appealed.

(Court of Second Instance’s Disposition against Illegal Appeals - Overrule by a Ruling or Order Amendment)
The court of second instance shall overrule by a ruling if the written appeal fails to set forth ground of reasons or if an appeal has situations listed in the former part of Article 362; provided that where the deficiency is amendable but not ordered an amendment by the original trial court, the presiding judge shall order an amendment to be made within a prescribed period.

(Judgment for a Meritless Appeal)
The court of second instance shall overrule an appeal by ruling if it finds such appeal meritless.

(Revoke the Original Judgment – Adjudicate or Remand the Case)
The court of second instance shall reverse the relevant portion of the original judgment and adjudicate the case upon finding the appeal meritorious or upon finding an appeal meritless but the original judgment is improper or illegal; provided that where the original judgment is set aside become of the trial court’s improper ruling on jurisdiction, exempt from prosecution, or case dismissed.
Where the court of second instance reverses the original judgment for the latter wrongfully pronounced mistake in jurisdiction, if the court of second instance has jurisdiction over the first instance, it shall render a judgment of first instance.

The second instance court shall not pronounce a criminal sanction greater than the original judgment on a case appealed by the defendant or appealed on behalf of the defendant. However, the provisions do not apply to cases where original judgment is revoked due to erroneous application of the law.
The term criminal sanction, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to the criminal sanction that should be executed, as set in a pronounced sentence, and a combined sentence for multiple offenses.
The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis to cases where a separate judgment is ruled for a sentence that should be executed, due to a revocation of the judgment of a combined sentence for multiple offenses in the first instance or the second instance, after an appeal.

(Single Party Judgment (VI))
Where a defendant default without due reasons after having been legally summoned, a judgment may be made without his/her statement.

(Exceptions to Oral Hearing (II))
For an appeal against a judgment under Article 367 or a judgment of mistake in jurisdiction, exempt from prosecution, or case dismissed rendered by the original trial court, the court of second instance may deny an appeal that is meritless or remand a meritorious case without oral argument.

(Quote from the Judgment of First Instance)
A judgment of second instance may quote facts, evidence and reasons set forth in the judgment of first instance, and the reasons shall be supplemented recorded for material items that have not been specified in the first instance, or for evidence or defense favorable to the defendant which has been proposed in the second instance but was not adopted.

(Formality of a Judgment Appealable)
Where a defendant or private prosecutor may appeal against the judgment of second instance, the period for submitting the reasons for appeal in writing shall be set forth in the original judgment served.

(Jurisdiction of the Appeal in the Third Instance)
A person who disagrees with a judgment of first instance or second instance made by a Court of appeal shall file an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The procedure of third instance shall apply where the trial of Supreme Court disagrees with the first instance judgment of a Court of appeal.

Criminal cases of following offenses shall not be appealed to the third instance court after the second instance judgment is issued. However, the defendant, or the person making an appeal on behalf of the defendant, may file for an appeal on cases where the judgment of the first instance court was not-guilty, exempt-from-prosecution, dismissal-from-prosecution, or jurisdictional error, and is revoked by the second instance court and a guilty ruling is pronounced:
1. Offenses that carry a maximum criminal sanction of less-than-three-years imprisonment, detention, or fine only.
2. Offenses of Larceny as described in Article 320, or Article 321 of the Criminal Code.
3. Offenses of embezzlement as described in Article 335, or Article 336 Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code.
4. Offenses of fraud as described in Article 339, or Article 341 of the Criminal Code.
5. Offenses of Breach of Trust as described in Article 342 of the Criminal Code.
6. Offenses of extortion as described in Article 346 of the Criminal Code.
7. Offenses of Receiving Stolen Property as described in Article 349 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.
A case which was appealed in accordance with the provisions of the provisos of the preceding paragraph, shall not be appealed to the third instance court after a revocation judgment is ruled by the third instance court and the case is remanded to the first instance court for further proceedings.

(Reasons for Appeal in the Third Instance (I) – Judgment in Contravention of Laws and Regulations)
Appeals to the court of third instance may only be filed where the judgment is in contravention of the laws and regulations.

(Meaning of in Contravention of Laws and Regulations)
A judgment which fails to apply rules or applies rules improperly is in contravention of the laws and regulations.

(Judgment Automatically in Contravention of the Laws and Regulations)
A judgment shall be on its face under the following circumstances:
1. Where the court is not organized in conformity with the laws;
2. Where a judge who should have disqualified himself/herself by operation of law or by decision has participated in making the decision;
3. Where the in camara trial is not pursuant to laws;
4. Where the court made an improper judgment on jurisdiction;
5. Where the court improperly hears or dismisses a case;
6. The trial took place on the date of hearing in the absence of the accused;
7. The trial took place in the absence of the advocate;
8. The trial took place without statement of the prosecutor or a private prosecutor in court;
9. Where the trial shall be suspended or start anew but is not suspended or started anew;
10. Where evidence to be investigated at the trial date is not investigated;
11. Where a defendant is not given opportunity to make his final statement;
12. Unless otherwise specified in the Code, where requested items are not adjudicated or where items not requested are adjudicated;
13. Where a non-participated judge is not involved in the making of the judgment;
14. Where no reasons are specified in the judgment or where ground of reasons specified are contradicting.

(Restrictions to Appeals to the Third Instance – Reasons for Appeal)
Besides situations specified in the preceding article, litigation process in contravention of the laws or regulations but obviously has no effects on the judgment may not be a reason for appeal.

(Reasons for Appeals to the Third Instance (II) – Punishment Amended, Abolished, or Remitted)
The abolishment, amendment, or remittance of punishments after the original judgment may be a reason for appeal.

Reasons for appeal shall be set forth in a written pleading of appeal. Where reasons are not set forth in a written pleading of appeal, they may be set forth in a supplementary pleading and be submitted to the court which made the original judgment within 20 days after the appeal is filed. Where a supplementary pleading is not filed, the court does not need to order its submission.
Paragraph 2 of Article 350, Article 351 and Article 352 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the submission of a written pleading specified in the preceding paragraph.

(Written Defense)
The opposing party may submit a written defense to the original trial court within 10 days since receiving the written appeal or the service of amended supplementary reasons in writing.
Where a prosecutor is the opposing party, he/she shall submit a written defense regarding the supplementary reasons for appeal.
Copies of the written defense shall be submitted; the clerk of original trial court shall serve those to the appellant.

(Original Trial Court’s Disposition against Illegal Appeals – Overrule by Ruling or Order Amendment)
The court shall overrule an appeal by ruling if it does not comply with legal formality, or it shall not be granted as a matter of law, or the right to appeal has lapsed; provided that where the deficiency in legal formality is amendable, the court shall order an amendment to be made within a prescribed period.

(Send the Case File and Exhibits to the Third Instance)
Except for situations listed in the preceding article, the original trial court shall promptly transmit the case dossier and exhibits to the prosecutor in court of third instance after receiving the written defense or the period for submitting a written defense has lapsed.
Once receives the case dossier and exhibits, the prosecutor in the court of third instance shall transmit the case dossier and exhibits along with an opinion in writing to the court of third instance in 7 days; provided that an opinion in writing may be omitted where the prosecutor has no other opinion regarding the written appeal or defense in writing sent by the prosecutor in the original trial court.
The original trial court shall transmit the case dossier and exhibits to the court of third instance where no prosecutor is a party in the appeal.

(Submitting Documents in Writing)
Before the court of third instance adjudicates the case, an appellant and opposing party may submit the reasons for appeal in writing, written defense, opinion, and amended supplementary reasons in writing to the court of third instance.
Copies of the document mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be served to the opposing party by the clerk of court of third instance.

(Apply mutatis mutandis Trial Procedure in the First Instance)
Except otherwise stipulated in this Chapter, a trial in the third instance shall apply mutatis mutandis trial procedure in the first instance.

(Exemption to the Mandatory Defense)
Article 31 does not apply to a trail of third instance.

(Exceptions to Oral Hearing (III))
The court of third instance may be trial without oral argument; provided that the court may order arguments if necessary.
The argument prescribed in the preceding paragraph may only be conducted by an agent or defense attorney who is a lawyer.

The court of third instance may appoint one associate judge to be the commissioned judge, in order to summarize main points of the appeal and defense into a report.

On the trial date, the commissioned judge shall read aloud the report before the commencement of oral argument.
A public prosecutor, agent, or defense attorney shall summarize the main points of the appeal before the oral argument starts.

(One-Party Argument and No Argument)
On the trial date, if no agent or defense attorney of the defendant or private prosecutor appears, the judgment shall be pronounced after the prosecutor of the agent or defense attorney of opposing party makes a statement. If both the defendant and private prosecutor have not present or defense attorney appeared in court, the judgment may be pronounced without argument.

(Scope of Investigation in the Third Instance (I) – Ground of Reasons for Appeal)
Investigations by the court of third instance shall be limited to items listed in the reason of appeal; provided that such court may ex officio investigate evidence for the following items:
1. Situations listed in subparagraphs of Article 379 exist;
2. Whether causes for the exemption from prosecution exist;
3. The adequacy of law applications on established facts;
4. The punishment was abolished, amended, or remitted after the original judgment;
5. The defendant is pardoned or died after the original judgment.

The court of third instance shall base its judgment on facts established in the judgment of second instance court, except for matters regarding litigation proceedings or matters the court may sua sponte investigate, on which the court of third instance may investigate the facts.
The investigation in the preceding paragraph may be conducted by a commissioned judge and the court of third instance may request judges of other courts to investigate.
Where the results of investigation conducted in accordance with the preceding two paragraphs show violations in the procedures of prosecution, the court of third instance may order the defects to be corrected. Where the court that made the original judgment initially had no jurisdiction but subsequently acquired jurisdiction pursuant to laws or regulations amended after the original judgment was made, the said court shall not be deemed not to have jurisdiction.

(Judgment for Illegal Appeals – Overrule by Ruling)
The court of third instance shall overrule an appeal by ruling if circumstances of Article 384 exist therein; the same rule applies where the reason for appeal in writing is not submitted within the period specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 382 and before the court of third instance adjudicates the case.

(Judgment for Meritless Appeals – Overrule by Ruling)
The court of third instance shall overrule an appeal by ruling if it finds such an appeal meritless.
The court may also pronounce a suspension of sentence under circumstance in the preceding paragraph.

(Judgments for Meritorious Appeals – Reverse the Original Judgment)
The court of third instance shall reverse the relevant portion of the original judgment upon finding the appeal meritorious.

(Reverse the Original Judgment (I) - Adjudication)
Where an original judgment is reversed pursuant to the following circumstances, the court of third instance shall adjudicate the case; provided that this rule does not apply to judgments to be made pursuant to the latter two articles:
1. Where in contravention of laws or regulations does not affect the finding of facts and can be the basis of judgment;
2. Where an exempt from prosecution or case dismissed shall be pronounced;
3. Where a circumstance under Subparagraph 4 or 5 of Article 393 exists.

(Reverse the Original Judgment (II) – Remand)
The court of third instance shall reverse and remand a case to the original trial court because such judgment were improperly decided based on “mistake in jurisdiction”, “exempt from prosecution” or “case dismissed”; provided that such a case can be remand to the court of first instance if necessary.

(Reverse the Original Judgment (III) –Trial Delivery)
The court of third instance shall remand the case to the competent court of second instance or court of first instance if the court of third instance reverse a judgment of original court because such judgment were improperly did not pronounce “exempt from prosecution”; provided that for cases listed in Article 4, once the original trial court with jurisdiction makes a judgment of second instance, it shall not be considered a mistake in jurisdiction.

(Reverse the Original Judgment (IV) – Remand or Trial Delivery)
Where the court of third instance reverses the original judgment for reasons other than situations listed in the preceding three articles, it shall remand the case to the original court or other court of the same level by ruling.

(Reverse the Original Judgment for Interests of the Defendant)
Where an original judgment is reversed for interests of the defendant, if the reasons for reversal also apply to co-defendants, the benefits shall apply to other co-defendants.