Is flag burning illegal in South Korea?

Criminal offense

Desecrating the national flag is a criminal offense under the South Korean Criminal Act.

South Korea is one of 55 countries classified “Criminal offense” for flag desecration — 82% of the 67 with data. (Also searched as flag burning.)

Source

Taken from
Wikipedia: Flag desecration
Last checked
17 September 2026
How it was classified
Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.

Nearby countries

Japan
Criminal offense Desecrating the national flag is a criminal offense under a newly enacted law.
Taiwan
Criminal offense Insulting the national flag or emblem of any country is a criminal offense in Taiwan.
China
Criminal offense Flag desecration is a crime in China.
Hong Kong
Criminal offense Desecrating the national or regional flag is a criminal offense under local ordinances.
Philippines
Criminal offense Desecrating the flag is a prohibited act punishable by fine or imprisonment under the Flag and Heraldic Code.
Thailand
Criminal offense Desecrating the Thai national flag is a criminal offense punishable by fine or imprisonment.

Other laws in South Korea

Holocaust Denial
No specific law
Conversion Therapy
No ban

Every law in South Korea → · Where is burning the flag illegal? →

A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.