When you should get advice
- We both agree to divorce, but we haven't decided how to divide our assets
- My spouse says we should divorce first and sort out the assets later
- I don't know how to write the person with parental authority and child support in the agreement
- Verbal abuse and violence make it hard to wait out the cooling-off period
- We wrote an agreement, but I'm not sure it's safe to sign as is
- We received the court's confirmation of intent to divorce, but I've changed my mind
Relevant provisions
Civil Act (민법) Articles 834 and 836 (Divorce by agreement and reporting)
Spouses may divorce by agreement. A divorce by agreement takes effect only when it is confirmed by the family court and reported under the Act on the Registration of Family Relationships.
Civil Act Article 836-2 (Divorce procedure)
Confirmation of intent to divorce can be given only after 3 months have passed from the day of the divorce guidance if there is a child to be raised (including a child in pregnancy), or 1 month if not. This period may be shortened or waived in urgent circumstances such as violence, and the court records the agreed child support in a child support protocol.
Act on the Registration of Family Relationships (가족관계의 등록 등에 관한 법률) Article 75
The divorce must be reported within 3 months of the day the certified copy of the confirmation is issued or served, and once this period passes, the family court's confirmation loses its effect.
Civil Act Article 839-2 (Right to claim property division)
A person divorced by agreement may also claim property division from the other spouse. This right expires 2 years after the date of divorce.
Statutes are summarized. The official Korean text is available at the Korea Law Information Center (law.go.kr).
What the court does and does not confirm in a divorce by agreement
Intent to divorce
- Court confirmation
- Confirmed
- How to settle it
- The spouses appear together at the confirmation hearing and confirm it before the judge
Person with parental authority and custodial parent
- Court confirmation
- Confirmed (if there are minor children)
- How to settle it
- Submit an agreement on custody and the designation of the person with parental authority. If it goes against the child's welfare, the court orders a correction
Child support
- Court confirmation
- Confirmed
- How to settle it
- The court draws up a child support protocol, which can be used for compulsory execution
Visitation
- Court confirmation
- Confirmed through the agreement
- How to settle it
- Write the frequency and method of visits in the agreement
| Item | Court confirmation | How to settle it |
|---|---|---|
| Intent to divorce | Confirmed | The spouses appear together at the confirmation hearing and confirm it before the judge |
| Person with parental authority and custodial parent | Confirmed (if there are minor children) | Submit an agreement on custody and the designation of the person with parental authority. If it goes against the child's welfare, the court orders a correction |
| Child support | Confirmed | The court draws up a child support protocol, which can be used for compulsory execution |
| Visitation | Confirmed through the agreement | Write the frequency and method of visits in the agreement |
| Property division | Not confirmed | Write the assets, amounts, payment deadlines and registration method in a separate agreement |
| Compensation for emotional distress | Not confirmed | Write the amount separately from property division, or, if you agreed not to claim it, state that |
Based on Civil Act Articles 836-2 and 837 and Act on the Registration of Family Relationships Article 75 (checked on the Korea Law Information Center, the government's official legislation database, October 2026).
Agreeing is not the end of the divorce
A divorce by agreement (협의이혼) begins when the spouses together submit an application for confirmation of intent to divorce (협의이혼의사확인 신청서) to the family court with jurisdiction over their place of family registration (등록기준지) or address. After applying, you receive the court's divorce guidance, and once the cooling-off period (숙려기간) has passed, both of you appear together at the scheduled confirmation hearing (확인기일) to have your intent to divorce confirmed.
Receiving the confirmation does not immediately end the marriage. The divorce takes effect only when it is reported (이혼신고) to the city, district, town or township office within 3 months of receiving the certified copy of the confirmation, and until then you are legally married. If either spouse fails to appear twice at the confirmation hearing, the application is treated as withdrawn, so coordinate your schedules in advance.
The cooling-off period can be shortened or waived
The cooling-off period is counted from the day you receive the divorce guidance. It is 3 months if there is a child to be raised, or 1 month if not, and a child in pregnancy counts as a child to be raised. It is different if your child will soon become an adult. If the guidance day is within 1 month before the child becomes an adult, 1 month applies, and if it is between 1 and 3 months before, the confirmation hearing is set for a date after the child becomes an adult.
If there are urgent circumstances, such as expected unbearable suffering from a spouse's violence, you can apply to have the period shortened or waived. Simply wanting a quick divorce is not accepted, so submit material showing the urgency, such as records of 112 (police) reports, medical certificates and counseling records.
Record property division and compensation in a separate agreement
The court does not confirm property division (재산분할) or compensation for emotional distress (위자료). If you go along with the idea of reporting the divorce first and sorting out the assets later, and your spouse then disposes of assets or cuts off contact, you will have to fight it out again in a lawsuit. Even in a divorce by agreement, it is safer to settle property matters in writing before the report.
The shorter the agreement, the more likely disputes will arise later over how to interpret it. If you combine compensation and property division into a single amount, the other spouse may later file a separate property division claim. We recommend writing down every item below.
- Separate amounts for compensation and property division (and if there is none, say so)
- Payment amounts and deadlines, and late payment damages if payment is delayed
- For real estate, identify it down to the lot number, and state when ownership will be transferred on the ground of property division
- Who will repay debts such as the mortgage loan
- Whether each spouse keeps their own severance pay and pension, and that no separate claim will be made to divide them
- A clause stating that neither spouse will make any further claims beyond what is agreed
If you have minor children, write a detailed agreement
If there is a child to be raised, you can receive the confirmation only after submitting an agreement that sets the person with parental authority (친권자), the custodial parent (양육자), child support (양육비) and visitation (면접교섭). The child support protocol (양육비부담조서) the court draws up can be enforced like a judgment, so state not only the amount but the monthly payment date, the account to receive it, and until when it will be paid. This makes it easier to calculate any overdue amounts later.
For visitation as well, rather than only writing a number of times per month, setting the days and times, where the child will be dropped off, and how school vacations and holidays will be shared reduces disputes after the divorce.
If you change your mind after the confirmation
Even after the confirmation of intent to divorce, the divorce does not take effect unless it is reported, and after 3 months the confirmation loses its effect. If you are worried the other spouse will report it first, you can submit a withdrawal of intent to divorce (이혼의사철회서) to the city, district, town or township office.
However, if the other spouse's divorce report is received before your withdrawal, the divorce takes effect, so once you decide to withdraw, act right away.
How Jisan Law's Family Law Center helps with a divorce by agreement
- 1
Separating what is agreed from what is left
The managing partner consults with you personally and lists the terms already agreed and the terms still in dispute. At this stage we also judge whether the matter can end by agreement or whether mediation would be better.
- 2
Listing the assets
We list real estate, deposits, insurance, expected severance pay and loans by whose name they are in, so you can see at a glance what will be divided.
- 3
Drafting the agreement
We write compensation and property division separately and set payment deadlines and the timing of registration. If money is to be received in the future, we also consider whether to record it in a notarized deed.
- 4
Reviewing the agreement on the children
We check whether the child support payment date and account and the visitation schedule fit your actual life, and refine the agreement to be submitted to the court.
- 5
Checking performance after the report
After the divorce is reported, we check that the registration transfer and the first child support payment were made as promised. If any property issues remain unsettled, we also keep track of the 2-year claim period with you.
Lawyers handling these cases
Hansol Kim Managing Partner
Former prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office
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Miso Kim Partner
Formerly at Daehwan Law Firm, in-house counsel on the legal team of Wemade Co., Ltd., and Oracle Law Firm
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Frequently asked questions
Can a lawyer apply for divorce by agreement on my behalf?
Confirmation of intent to divorce is a procedure in which the court directly confirms the spouses' own intentions, so you must apply and attend the confirmation hearing in person. Jisan Law handles drafting and reviewing the settlement agreement and the agreement on the children, and negotiating the terms with the other spouse. There are separate procedures if one spouse is abroad or in a correctional facility.
Do we need two witnesses on the divorce report?
The Civil Act requires the signatures of two adult witnesses on a report of divorce by agreement, but if a certified copy of the family court's confirmation of intent to divorce is attached, the witnesses' signatures are deemed to be included (Act on the Registration of Family Relationships Article 76). If your divorce by agreement went through court confirmation, you do not need to find witnesses.
Do we need to have the agreement notarized?
An agreement signed by both spouses is valid as a contract even without notarization. However, if money is to be received in the future, it must be made into a notarized deed (공정증서) consenting to compulsory execution for it to be enforced directly without a judgment. A promise that is not about money, such as transferring ownership of real estate, is hard to enforce with a notarized deed alone, so also set the date on which the registration documents will be handed over.
My spouse started seeing someone else during the cooling-off period. Can I receive compensation?
The mere fact that you applied for divorce by agreement does not mean the marriage has completely ended. Liability for compensation may be recognized depending on whether you were still living together at the time and whether there was room to repair the relationship. Keep records of when the relationship started and what your life together looked like at that time.
What happens if the terms fall apart during the divorce-by-agreement process?
Until the confirmation is given, you can withdraw the application and move to mediation or a lawsuit. A property division agreement written on the premise of a divorce by agreement may have its validity questioned if the divorce by agreement does not happen, so in a lawsuit, property division may have to be argued again from the beginning.