In any country, it is important to know how to report to the police if something is stolen from you, if you have a problem, or if you have lost your belongings. The first thing to do is look for the nearest police station (경찰) where it happened. Whether you've had an incident, or someone has stolen something, you need to go to the nearest station because each district has a specific area for which it operates. If you have lost your ID card, you can usually go to the police station near your home.
When you get to the station you have to specify to the officer at the entrance usually what your problem is. He will guide you to whoever handles your problem. Larger police stations have specific officers for various issues, but smaller ones may have a maximum of two who take over reports/complaints.
You will have to explain in as much detail as possible what your problem is. In the case of a specific incident, if you have a friend who can come with you as a witness it is even better, if you do have something as proof it would be good to bring that as well. The police will want as many details as possible, so try to remember everything, time, date, location, who you were with, what you were doing, every detail is important.
You will then need to complete a report, sometimes in Korean, but most of the time it is good in English as well. The report must be completed by hand, as detailed as possible. The officers will help you complete it so you don't have to be scared. You will leave them your details to contact you in the coming days with new information. After completing the report, you can leave.
Sometimes they will take pictures of the evidence, or of your ID card to put them on file. You can go home quietly knowing that law enforcement will do everything possible to get things done.
They will call you in the next few days or you will receive messages with updates. Once things are resolved you can withdraw your complaint (in case of a conflict, theft, or damaged property) or you can continue in court.
Personally, I think it's better to leave things behind and get over what happened. To go to court you need money, a lawyer, and time, so as a foreigner, especially as a student, you should not try to complicate yourself if it is not something very important or has an effect on your health/safety. If you withdraw the complaint, you will have to appear in person or call to say you want it canceled.
The procedure is not complicated at all. After that, you can go back to your previous life and rest assured that things have worked out.
If you lose your ID card, you must report it to the police before you can recover it. To do this, you must fill out a loss form directly at the station. You must then provide proof of immigration in order to receive a new ID.
There are also tourist police stations and most of the time, they also know English, so you can try to talk with them and they will guide you properly.
Although the police can be scary, they can help you, so feel free to ask for help if you need it.
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