Defending an Affair Lawsuit (Defendant)

The complaint (소장) contains the relief sought, which states the amount claimed, and the cause of action, which sets out the facts the plaintiff alleges. Mark each point: the period of infidelity the plaintiff alleges, what evidence is attached, and the grounds for saying you knew of the marriage.

The amount in the complaint is only what the plaintiff wants; it is not an amount set by the court. However, if you do not file an answer (답변서), judgment may be entered for that exact amount, so first calculate the 30-day deadline from the day you were served.

Knowledge of the marriage is, in principle, for the plaintiff to prove. Even so, in actual trials, the more concretely the defendant shows how they came not to know, the easier it is to persuade the court. The court wants to confirm three things: what words and actions deceived you, when you learned of the marriage, and how you acted after learning of it.

Key evidence includes messages in which the other person introduced themselves as single or divorced, conversations in which you asked whether they were married, and records showing you cut off contact right after learning the truth. If you kept meeting after finding out, liability may be recognized for the period after that, so check unfavorable records in advance as well.

• Chats or recordings in which they introduced themselves as single or divorced
• Evidence that, during the relationship, the other person lived as if they lived alone
• The day you learned of the marriage and how
• Messages cutting off contact or protesting right after that

If the couple had been separated for a long time, so that their shared married life no longer existed in substance and was objectively beyond repair, a relationship after that point is not a tort. The test is not whether a divorce lawsuit was pending, but whether the breakdown had already become settled before that.

A marital quarrel or a brief period apart is not enough. If, even while separated, your partner kept sending living expenses, cared for the children together with their spouse, and attended family events with them, the breakdown argument is unlikely to be accepted. We organize evidence on when and why the separation began, whether living expenses and childcare stopped, and whether there are records of divorce being discussed.

Sometimes people are sued through a misunderstanding when they were actually only coworkers or friends. If you don't respond, the plaintiff's account may be accepted as it stands, so we submit the entire conversation in time order to show the nature of the relationship.

In other cases, the two did meet, but the plaintiff exaggerates the period or claims that payment records from other days are also connected to the defendant. We check whether the date and place of each piece of the plaintiff's evidence match the facts, and rebut the inconsistencies in a separate table.

Out of a sense of injustice, some defendants write at length about the plaintiff couple's private life or the plaintiff's faults. Accusations that the other person's spouse approached first, or that the plaintiff neglected the family, can look like shifting blame and may actually hurt you. The answer should be written around the facts and the law.

Claiming you didn't know when you actually did is also dangerous. If contrary evidence comes out, your other arguments become hard to believe too. In some cases, it is better to admit what should be admitted and put your weight behind the grounds for a reduction.