In a civil suit, once the complaint is filed with the court it is served on the defendant, and if service succeeds, the presiding judge reviews the case record after the deadline for the defendant's answer expires and decides how to proceed. The case then takes one of two paths depending on whether an answer was filed by the deadline. If the defendant filed no answer or filed one admitting the claim, the case is classified for judgment without pleadings. But if the defendant files an answer denying the claim and contests the case, the presiding judge reviews the record, classifies the case and decides how to conduct the hearing. In principle, the presiding judge should set the first hearing date as early as possible so that both parties can face the judge early. The first hearing gives both parties the chance to confirm the issues in front of the judge and rebut each other's claims, carrying out the spirit of oral proceedings. This lets both sides fully present their claims and appeals, and lets the court form its views transparently through oral hearings in open court, raising trust in and satisfaction with the trial. If the parties make clear at the first hearing what issues they dispute, later requests for and examination of evidence can focus on those confirmed issues. As hearings proceed, the plaintiff and defendant must submit their claims in preparatory briefs and complete all requests for and submission of evidence supporting them. Related documentary evidence should in principle be attached to the briefs, and requests for documents, fact inquiries, inspections, expert appraisals and even witness applications should, as a rule, all be completed at this stage. On the evidence date, all witnesses and parties to be examined on both sides are in principle examined together, and judgment is delivered shortly after the examination ends. In contested cases like this one, the court also aims to resolve the dispute peacefully at any stage through a recommended settlement decision or mediation, so if the parties agree, the suit can be withdrawn and ended. That is the course of a trial, and within it the process of assigning a judge to review the complaint after it is filed is called case assignment. Case assignment is overseen by the chief judge of each court or branch, and for small claims, civil application cases and civil execution cases the court administrator may be delegated the task. Assignment begins right after filing closes each day or at the start of business the next day, and courts with heavy caseloads may assign cases twice, in the morning and afternoon. Case assignment designates the responsible panel and the presiding judge at the same time, based on the court's allocation of duties.

If the plaintiff A wants to sue B for the purchase price of the land, A must, as explained above, choose either the Daegu District Court or the Seoul District Court. If A follows the general forum, A should prepare and file a complaint with the Daegu District Court, and if A follows the special forum, A should sue in the Seoul District Court. The complaint must describe in detail the plaintiff's identity, the relief sought and the grounds for the claim, and documentary evidence must be presented.

To add: the 'Seoul District Court' in the paper today corresponds to the Seoul Central District Court, which covers Jongno-gu. A money debt must be paid at the creditor's current address unless otherwise agreed (Article 467(2) of the Civil Act), so the seller can sue in the court for his own address, but when the price is to be paid at the same time as delivery of the object sold, the place of delivery becomes the place of payment (Article 586). Since March 2022, civil cases go to a three-judge panel at first instance only when the amount in controversy exceeds 500 million won, so unlike the paper's explanation of subject-matter jurisdiction, this case is for a single judge. The small claims threshold is 30 million won or less.