Divorce By Agreement in Korea: Protecting Your Rights in a Seemingly Simple Divorce
Divorce by agreement (협의이혼) is often the preferred choice for couples seeking to end their marriage. This approach, which minimizes court intervention and respects mutual decision-making, offers several advantages. Chief among these are streamlined procedures and cost efficiency. The process typically moves more swiftly than divorce by trial or mediation, saving both time and money. Additionally, because couples negotiate directly, they can avoid the emotional toll of courtroom confrontations and better predict post-divorce situations without waiting for court-imposed decisions.
However, these benefits come with potential risks that warrant careful consideration. Without proper legal guidance, those lacking legal knowledge may fail to protect their rights adequately. There’s also the possibility of one spouse exerting undue influence, leading to inequitable outcomes. Moreover, attempting to resolve complex property division or child custody issues without expert help could lead to oversights with long-term consequences.
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Why Betrayed Twice: Infidelity Victim’s Divorce Yields Nothing
The case of client Mina (pseudonym), who sought help from SLG, starkly illustrates the risks inherent in divorce by agreement. She had been deceived by her husband’s claim that they were merely “rehearsing” the process. Mina only discovered his infidelity after their divorce was finalized. In this case, the simplicity of the divorce by agreement procedure unexpectedly worked against her, making her vulnerable to deception.
Years of a tumultuous marriage fraught with lies and threats from her husband and his family left her unable to assess the situation clearly. Despite both being highly educated – her husband, in particular, was a graduate of a prestigious university with an elite career – he skillfully manipulated his professional advantages to gaslight her and cloud her judgment. Consequently, this “fraudulent divorce” resulted in Mina receiving a mere 300,000 KRW in child support, bare-handed with no provisions for property division or compensation.
From Consensus to Constraint: The Binding Nature of Korean Divorce Agreements
While Korean Civil Act allows for changes to divorce agreements within a certain period, enforcing such changes is extremely challenging. The court views divorce by agreements as responsibly decided by the parties and is reluctant to intervene without exceptional circumstances.
To get a divorce agreement revised, one must show that it was made under duress, deception, or without meeting legal requirements. These actions usually occur behind closed doors, making it very difficult to obtain concrete evidence. Additionally, when one party claims to have been coerced or deceived, the other won’t remain passive. The opposing party will counter-argue that the agreement was voluntary, and the court will listen carefully to both sides’ opinions.
Furthermore, courts apply very strict criteria in recognizing coercion, fraud, or deception. For instance, coercion must be proven to have exerted such overwhelming pressure that it left no room for free decision-making. Nevertheless, despite these challenges, SLG achieved remarkable results for Mina, which we’ll elaborate on below.
SLG’s First Unbinding: Quadrupling Child Support
First, the court ruled to increase the monthly child support from a mere 300,000 KRW to 1,200,000 KRW – a fourfold increase. This was particularly impressive given that her husband had been unemployed and without income for about six months. Considering that child support is typically based on the combined monthly income of both spouses, 1,200,000 KRW is an extraordinary accomplishment.
SLG’s Nine-Point Counterattack
Mina’s husband made a last-minute attempt to defend himself. Just before the deadline, he hastily filed an appeal, seeking to reduce his child support obligations. His main argument was that he was receiving emergency welfare support.
However, SLG countered with evidence uncovered through careful research into his accumulated assets and part-time earnings after the dismissal. Our lawyers didn’t miss any weak points in his casual statements, presenting nine reasons backed by irrefutable evidence, and even cross-appealed for an increase beyond 1,200,000 KRW. While we can’t disclose all of our techniques, the husband quickly retreated and agreed to mediation. This was after delaying the proceedings seven times using various tactics.
The 128,000,000 KRW Victory: Court Recognizes Third-Party Assets as Subject to Division
SLG also secured 25,000,000 KRW in compensation and 102,000,000 KRW in property division.
As mentioned, her husband expertly wielded his professional acumen to manipulate the situation to his advantage. He had been earning a salary in the top 2% of South Korea for nearly 20 years before losing his job and receiving emergency welfare support from the government in just a few months of unemployment. How easy do you think it is to slip through the Korean government’s stringent welfare screening process? Yet he managed it through clever maneuvering, transferring many of his assets to others’ names in anticipation of the divorce.
SLG succeeded in presenting undeniable logic and evidence, leading the judge to acknowledge that the husband must be the true owner of the concealed assets. SLG’s achievement is especially noteworthy because getting assets under others’ names recognized for property division is extremely difficult. The husband appealed this decision, but the subsequent judgment rather increased the property division amount slightly, revealing only a calculation error in the original court’s decision. This outcome further proved SLG’s logic to be unassailable.
Compensation for Psychological Damages
Lastly, let’s discuss the compensation for emotional distress, which many people are interested in. Unlike Western alimony recognized as ongoing financial support after divorce, compensation is for psychological damages, generally paid as a lump sum. And the more damage and harm you can prove, the higher the amount you’re likely to be awarded. SLG filed lawsuits not only against the husband but also against the mistress involved in the affair. In fact, SLG fully understood that the chances of winning this lawsuit were slim.
There was little evidence. The only proof Mina had was a photo she managed to take from her husband’s phone during a brief moment when he was in the shower. It was a rare opportunity amidst her hectic 24-hour days juggling work, childcare, and housework, all without help from her gaslighting husband and in-laws. After that, she had no chance to gather more evidence. So why did SLG proceed with the lawsuit against her husband’s affair partner? First, Mina desperately wanted to file the lawsuit itself, regardless of the odds of winning. Second, we had a plan to turn it into a strategic advantage.
Tactical Use of an ‘Unwinnable’ Adultery Lawsuit
Panicked by becoming a defendant, the other woman exposed the husband’s wrongdoings from A to Z in an effort to protect herself. SLG then capitalized on these revelations, turning them into a valuable source of evidence. If you’re not reading this as a victim of infidelity but rather as someone involved in an affair, you can see how effectively we defend the unfaithful party. We understand and anticipate the emotions and complex dynamics of the parties involved, using them to our advantage.
Conclusion
Today, we’ve covered the practical aspects of child support, property division, and compensation – rights that require vigilant protection even in the emotional turmoil of divorce. If you’re considering an amicable divorce but worry about potential disadvantages due to limited legal knowledge, if you didn’t receive fair financial compensation or division during your divorce process, or if you’re seeking divorce legal services tailored to the unique situations of foreigners, we invite you to explore SLG’s success stories and blog posts.
In fact, the remarkable victories in this case don’t end here. Many people unknowingly violate the ” Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (정보통신망 이용촉진 및 정보보호 등에 관한 법률)” during divorce proceedings, potentially becoming criminals. This is especially critical for foreigners, as avoiding a criminal record is essential for maintaining residency status. Don’t miss the second part of client Mina’s story to learn more.
You can refer to the following posts related to this case: