Affairs Between Two Married People (Cross Lawsuits)

If A's husband and B's wife had an affair, A can claim against B's wife and B can claim against A's husband. These are separate cases with different plaintiffs and defendants, so the judgments also come out separately.

Even for the same infidelity (부정행위), you cannot assume the two judgments will award the same amount. They can differ depending on each household's length of marriage, children, whether there is a divorce, and who was more active.

If both couples stay married, the compensation (위자료) you receive from the affair partner and the compensation your spouse pays to the other spouse move in and out of the same household budget. Once litigation costs are added, sometimes almost nothing is left.

So the two couples sometimes settle by agreeing not to claim against each other and only promising that the two will not meet and that everything stays confidential. Such an agreement should be signed by all four people involved to avoid later disputes.

A married person who becomes a defendant in an affair lawsuit first worries about documents arriving at home. Appointing a legal representative or reporting a place for service lets you change where later documents are received.

However, focusing only on hiding it delays your response. Decide the order of steps keeping in mind that your own spouse also has a right to claim against the other affair partner.

An affair partner who paid compensation under a judgment can claim reimbursement (구상) from the person they had the affair with, up to that person's share. In an affair between two married people, this reimbursement also ultimately comes out of the other household's budget.

When ending the matter by settlement, include both a clause that neither side will exercise the right to reimbursement and a no-further-claims clause so you don't end up disputing again later.