I contacted an acquaintance to repay the money I borrowed, but they moved abroad and I cannot reach them. Should I make a repayment deposit?

If you are in a situation where you cannot reach the creditor, you can lawfully perform the obligation through a repayment deposit, and in this case it is important to accurately confirm the jurisdiction of the deposit office.

In principle, a repayment deposit must be made at the deposit office of the place of performance of the obligation.

However, as in your question, where the creditor has emigrated and has no address or residence in the country, an exception is recognized.

That is, where it is a debt to be performed at the creditor's address and there is no separate agreement or statutory restriction, you can make a repayment deposit at the deposit office of the Seoul Central District Court.

In addition, where the deposit office is far away, under certain requirements, an application for a monetary repayment deposit or a claim for payment of the deposited money is also possible at a deposit office other than the one with jurisdiction.

In particular, where the person themselves or their statutory representative makes the claim directly and the amount is 10 million won or less, such a procedure is permitted through identity verification.

Therefore, in a matter like the present one, it is necessary to comprehensively consider matters such as whether the creditor resides in the country, the place of performance of the obligation, and the deposit amount, select an appropriate deposit office, and make the repayment deposit, and because the procedure can vary depending on the matter, it is advisable to conduct an accurate review in advance.

Daeryun, ranked 9th among law firms in Korea (based on 2025 National Tax Service value-added tax filings), handles various deposit cases and provides tailored legal advice so that lawful performance of obligations can be achieved even in complex situations such as an unknown creditor location·emigration·refusal to accept.