Child Support Claims and Enforcement

The court uses the Child Support Guidelines (양육비 산정기준표) published by the Seoul Family Court to find the standard child support (양육비) for the parents' combined income and the children's ages and number, then divides it by the parents' income ratio to set the non-custodial parent's share. The guidelines are only a starting point, and the amount can be increased or reduced depending on the circumstances.

If the child needs long-term treatment, has already been receiving costly education such as in arts or sports, or the parents have substantial assets compared to their income, you need to show those circumstances with material. Conversely, the paying parent argues for a reduction by proving their actual income and other dependents.

Child support you paid alone during a separation before divorce, or during a period when child support was not set at the divorce, can be claimed as past child support (과거양육비). The court sets the amount by considering the costs actually spent during that period, the other parent's finances, and the burden of paying it all at once.

A 2024 Supreme Court en banc decision established that the limitation period for past child support that was not set in advance starts running when the child becomes an adult and the duty to raise the child ends. For child support already set by a judgment or record, the limitation period runs separately from each payment date, so if child support has been overdue for a long time, start by calculating the periods.

If circumstances change after child support is set, it can be changed. If education costs rose because the child moved up to a higher school, prices have risen a lot, or the child became ill and has medical costs, you can ask for an increase. If the paying parent lost their job or became seriously ill, they can ask for a decrease.

The important point is that you must not reduce or stop payments on your own judgment. Until the court decides on a reduction, the original amount keeps building up as a debt, and a performance order and compulsory execution may follow for the overdue amount.

If the other parent works for a company, the fastest route is to apply for a direct payment order (직접지급명령) once two or more payments are overdue. If they are self-employed or a freelancer, we consider a security order (담보제공명령), a lump-sum payment order, and compulsory execution against deposits or real estate after an asset inquiry.

If three or more payments are missed despite a performance order (이행명령), you can apply for detention (감치), and if payment is still not made within 1 year after the detention order, the payer becomes subject to criminal punishment. Through the Child Support Enforcement Agency (양육비이행관리원), you can consider driver's license suspension, a request for a travel ban and public disclosure of the name. If you meet the legal requirements, you can also apply for advance payment of child support (양육비 선지급), in which the Child Support Enforcement Agency pays the child support first in place of the other parent.

A record or agreement setting child support should clearly state the amount, the monthly payment date, the account to receive it, and until when it will be paid. If these points are vague, disputes arise as soon as you try to calculate the overdue amount.

It is also a good idea to decide in advance how to share large, hard-to-predict costs such as school admission fees or surgery costs. In a divorce by agreement, check that these terms are accurately included in the child support protocol (양육비부담조서) the court draws up.