e-Litigation
- Introduction
- ECFS
- Electronic Courtrooms
Electronic litigation (“e-litigation”) allows litigants to file cases, receive court documents, and access case records online. By reducing the need for in-person court visits, the system minimizes time and financial costs for users while providing faster access to judicial services. In practice, e-litigation appears to function not merely as a technical convenience but as a structural adjustment to how courts interact with the public.
Since the Supreme Court of Korea first introduced e-litigation for IP cases filed in the Intellectual Property High Court in April 2010, the system has expanded incrementally. Civil cases were added in May 2011, followed by family and administrative cases in January 2013. Application cases became eligible in September 2013, bankruptcy and insolvency cases in April 2014, and execution cases in March 2015. As of October 2025, the Supreme Court has extended e-litigation to criminal cases, effectively enabling electronic litigation across all case types.
The e-litigation usage rate in civil cases has steadily increased from 83.5% in 2021 to 90.87% in 2025. For intellectual property (IP) cases, use is even higher, reaching 95% in 2023 and nearly 100% from 2024 onward. These statistics demonstrate that electronic filing has become essential for an efficient judicial system.
The Supreme Court began integrating the Electronic Order for Payment System, an electronic debt collection system, in January 2023 with 12 district courts. By May 2025, the system had expanded to 20 branch courts. For criminal proceedings, electronic summary procedures for specific case types were first introduced in 2010. Since 2019, electronic copies of criminal records have been available.
In January 2025, the Supreme Court launched the Next Generation E-Litigation System to improve integration and user convenience, aiming to create a more open and accessible judiciary. Consequently, a comprehensive e-litigation system for criminal cases was introduced, allowing fully digital processes for trials, probation, summary proceedings, and warrants.
The integration of advanced technology into Korean courtrooms has fundamentally reshaped the legal environment. After the introduction of a standardized e-court model in 2010?initially adopted by the IP High Court?1,042 electronic courtrooms have been established nationwide across high courts, district courts, and branch courts. These technologically enhanced courtrooms offer quick access to electronic records and feature beam projectors, overhead projectors, and large display monitors, allowing judges and participants to examine materials directly during hearings.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person court proceedings, highlighting the need for remote video conferencing. In response, relevant laws were amended in 2021 to establish a legal framework allowing participation in oral arguments and mediation hearings via video without requiring physical attendance, making the legal process more accessible and convenient for the public. As of December 2025, a total of 253,348 video hearings had been conducted, enabling more individuals to participate in court proceedings regardless of location or circumstance.
The Supreme Court of Korea remains committed to transparent, efficient e-litigation and to expanding access to judicial information to deliver more open, accessible public services.
The Electronic Case Filing System (ECFS, http://ecfs.scourt.go.kr) is the Korean Judiciary’s electronic litigation system. It is a comprehensive system that allows litigants and their attorneys to file and manage cases, as well as access court information and procedures electronically. They are able to file all court documents, documentary evidence and digital evidence over the Internet without physically visiting the courts. After filing a case via ECFS, the plaintiffs/petitioners receive e-mail and text message notifications when the other parties submit documents to the court. If the defendants/respondents consent to e-filing, they may also receive electronic notices of the other parties’ filings. Such notice, in conjunction with access to case records and procedures electronically, allows all parties using ECFS to promptly check the current status of the proceedings.
In addition to litigant access, the computerized case management program of ECFS also allows judges and court officials to manage cases much more efficiently by viewing electronic case records and checking case statuses in a speedy manner. ECFS opened a new chapter of electronic litigation by replacing the already-existing paper-based litigation. Judges are able to conduct paperless hearings because all the electronic case files, including documents, are retrieved from central databases and viewed on monitors and larger screens in courtrooms.
Due to privacy and security reasons, access to electronic case files is available to litigants and their attorneys but not to the public. However, the online judgment search service for the decisions of the Supreme Court as well as the lower courts’ opinions is accessible to the public.
Litigants and their attorneys may electronically file documents and evidence for certain types of cases on the ECFS website. They can also access case records and procedural information and search for legal information, such as the Supreme Court’s decisions, articles or news regarding the law. In addition, ECFS provides the parties with several stable and convenient services connected with the electronic services of financial institutions, registration offices and other public institutions involved with litigation-related matters.
Judges and court officials may manage cases for electronic litigation by efficiently scheduling and preparing for hearings through ECFS.
The electronic courtrooms (e-courtrooms) are crucial to the electronic courts (e-courts). The Korean Judiciary has placed strategic priority on establishing e-courtrooms in the courts nationwide. The salient features of e-courtrooms are as follows:
E-courtrooms provide judges with the same type of computer network environment as the judges’ chambers. The Internet and all court programs and systems for trials are accessible through computers at the bench in these e-courtrooms, as well as in the judges’ chambers.
E-courtrooms support efficient oral arguments/pleadings.
They are well equipped with electronic technologies and devices, including computers, digital visual presenters and DVD players. Both parties and witnesses may easily use these devices during the trial. This creates efficient oral arguments/pleadings and enables the audience in the e-courtroom to better understand the ongoing trial.
E-courtrooms serve to improve transparency and accessibility in trial proceedings.
Judges and other courtroom participants, such as the parties, attorneys for each party an the courtroom deputy, may view the stenographic records as typed by the court reporter in real-time via their computer screens. In addition, e-courtrooms are equipped with electronic devices that partially or completely record the trial proceedings with the permission of the judge.
