147 questions, grouped by topic

Incompatibility by itself is not automatically a ground for judicial divorce. But if it has broken the marriage down so badly that it is hard to repair, you can divorce on the ground of 'any other serious reason making it difficult to continue the marriage' under Civil Act Article 840, Item 6. If both of you agree, you can simply proceed with a divorce by agreement (협의이혼).

Yes. Property division (재산분할) is decided not by whose name the assets are in but by each spouse's contribution to building and keeping the assets during the marriage, and housework and childcare count as contributions. The division ratio differs case by case depending on the length of the marriage, how the assets were built and whether both spouses worked.

Child support (양육비) is set with reference to the Seoul Family Court's Child Support Guidelines, which reflect the parents' incomes and the children's ages and number, and in principle it is paid until the child becomes an adult. It may be increased for special circumstances such as the child's illness or education costs, and if circumstances change later, you can ask for an increase or decrease.

Yes. A claim for compensation against the affair partner is a right separate from divorce, so you can make it while staying married. In that case, you file a damages lawsuit in a civil court. However, because the harm to the marriage is assessed as smaller than when it ends in divorce, the amount awarded may be lower.

If you do not file an answer within 30 days of receiving the copy of the complaint, the court can treat you as having admitted the plaintiff's claims and rule without a hearing (Civil Procedure Act Articles 256 and 257). The full amount claimed may be awarded, so respond before the deadline. It is also wise not to contact the plaintiff or the plaintiff's spouse directly to explain yourself.

If the debts clearly exceed the assets and there is almost nothing to inherit, renunciation is simpler. If you do not know whether the assets or the debts are larger, or you are worried that renouncing will pass the debts to relatives further down the line, consider limited acceptance. With limited acceptance you only have to pay the debts up to the value of the inherited assets, but after it is accepted by the court you must carry out the liquidation process yourself, including public notice and distribution.

If you did not know, without gross negligence, that the debts exceeded the assets, you can make a limited acceptance within 3 months of learning that fact (Civil Act Article 1019(3)). The date you first received a complaint or a payment demand is often treated as that day, so keep the envelope and the date of receipt. In this case, only limited acceptance is available, not renunciation.

Not anymore. On April 25, 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that the forced heirship provision for siblings was unconstitutional, and Civil Act Article 1112, Item 4 was deleted. Forced heirship shares are now recognized only for children and spouses (half of the statutory share) and parents (one third).

We explain the fees after the consultation, once we have looked at the issues in your case and the scope of the claims. The work involved differs greatly depending on whether it is a review of a divorce-by-agreement settlement or a lawsuit disputing both property division and custody. You can hear our explanation first and then decide.

Consultations are available at our main office in Seoul and our branch offices in Incheon, Hongseong and Songpa. Send us a message through the chat on this page and we will arrange the most convenient office and time.

The managing partner handles consultations personally. We do not hide behind office managers or associate lawyers, and we set the direction of your case together based on what we hear in the consultation.

Yes, you can. When the divorce and its terms are mostly agreed, some people file for mediation themselves and finish that way. However, if the assets are large, your spouse seems to be hiding assets, or custody is disputed, it is easy to lose out by not using procedures such as provisional attachment (가압류) or asset inquiries at the right time. Even if you proceed on your own, it is a good idea to have the wording of the complaint or the mediation record checked once.

Please bring your marriage relationship certificate, a note listing in date order when problems occurred, a list of the assets and loans you know of, and material such as KakaoTalk messages, recordings and medical certificates. If you have received a complaint or court documents, bring them in their envelope. It is fine if you have not gathered everything yet. We will decide together in the consultation what else needs to be collected.

Yes. When you file for divorce mediation or a lawsuit, you can apply for a pre-trial measure (사전처분) asking the court to set living expenses or child support temporarily, and you can also make a separate claim for spousal support (부양료) or marriage expenses (혼인생활비용). If it would be hard to get through a long lawsuit without income, it is better to apply for these from the start.

If both spouses live within the jurisdiction of the same family court, you file there. If not, you file in the court for the place where you last lived together, as long as one of you still lives there. Otherwise, you file in the court where the other spouse lives (Family Litigation Act Article 22). If you are separated and live at different addresses, the first step is to check where to file.

If you hire a lawyer, often only the lawyer attends the hearings, and with the court's permission a lawyer can also attend mediation sessions on your behalf. If there has been domestic violence, you can ask the court to provide separate waiting areas. However, some procedures, such as the family investigation (가사조사), require you to take part in person.

No. If mediation fails, the lawsuit is treated as filed when mediation was requested, and the case moves to litigation (Family Litigation Act Article 49; Civil Conciliation Act Article 36). Instead, the court issues a correction order (보정명령) to pay the shortfall in stamp fees and service fees needed for the lawsuit. If you do not pay, the case can be dismissed, so be sure to check the court documents.

If no one files an objection within 2 weeks of being served with the original copy of the decision, it becomes final and has the same effect as a judicial settlement (Family Litigation Act Article 49; Civil Conciliation Act Article 34). If you object, even because you dislike only part of it, the entire decision loses its effect and the case moves to litigation. The period runs from the day you were served, not the day of the decision, so review it in the same week you receive it.

The deadline is judged by the date you filed for mediation. This is because if mediation fails and the case moves to litigation, the lawsuit is treated as filed when mediation was requested (Civil Conciliation Act Article 36). However, if the person who filed for mediation fails to attend two sessions, the application is treated as withdrawn (Article 31 of the same Act), so be sure to attend.

Unlike ordinary civil lawsuits, the rule on deemed admission does not apply to judicial divorce (Family Litigation Act Article 12, proviso), so the plaintiff's claims are not automatically accepted just because there is no answer. The court decides whether there are grounds for divorce by looking at the evidence, so the plaintiff must still submit thorough material. Even so, if the other side does not contest the case, it generally ends sooner than a contested one.

You can file a lawsuit, but if you are mainly responsible for the breakdown of the marriage, the divorce claim is in principle not accepted. You first need to examine whether you fall under an exception recognized by case law, such as when your spouse also has no intention of continuing the marriage, or when you have shown consideration that offsets your responsibility, such as steadily sending living expenses and child support.

Anyone who approaches or contacts the victim despite a protection order (보호명령) or temporary protection order can be punished by imprisonment of up to 2 years, a fine of up to KRW 20 million, or short-term detention (Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Domestic Violence Crimes Article 63). Report any violation to 112 right away and keep the messages and call records.

Since there was no agreement to marry, you can file a claim for nullity of the marriage (혼인무효), and you can file at any time without a time limit (Civil Act Article 815, Item 1; Family Litigation Act Article 23). A criminal complaint over the forged documents can also be considered.

Annulment of a marriage due to fraud cannot be claimed once 3 months have passed since you learned of the fraud (Civil Act Article 823). If the period has passed, instead of annulment, we consider pursuing a divorce and compensation for emotional distress. When you found out may become a point of dispute, so write down how you came to know.

In property division, the spouses also decide who will take on loans taken out for their life together. But this is an agreement between the spouses, and the borrower in the bank's eyes remains the person named on the loan. The spouse taking over the home should check with the bank in advance whether the loan can be transferred into their name, to avoid problems later.

In principle, assets you owned before the marriage are not subject to property division. However, if the marriage was long and your spouse helped keep or increase the value of that home by repaying the loan or maintaining it, it may be included. If money you saved before the marriage became the seed money for a home bought after the marriage, the whole home is usually included in the division, and that money is often reflected as a factor that raises your share of contribution.

Yes, there can be. The Supreme Court has held that a property division claim can be accepted even if the couple's debts exceed their assets and the result is a division of debt (Supreme Court en banc decision of June 20, 2013, 2010므4071, 4088). However, not every debt is divided. The test is whether the debt arose for the marriage, such as for living costs or acquiring joint assets. Debts one spouse ran up alone, such as gambling debts, stay with that spouse.

Courts and the National Tax Service treat assets transferred through property division as a settlement of assets the couple built together, so they are not subject to capital gains tax for the transferring spouse or gift tax for the receiving spouse. On the other hand, if a home is transferred instead of compensation for emotional distress (위자료), it is treated as a sale, and capital gains tax may arise for the transferring spouse. Which one applies is judged not only by the label written in the record or judgment but by the substance, such as what the judgment says and how the divorce came about. If the share received greatly exceeds a reasonable range and appears to be a way to avoid tax, gift tax may be imposed on the excess (Supreme Court decision of September 12, 2017, 2016두58901), and if you transfer the title before reporting the divorce, it may be taxed as a gift even if there is a mediation record. Acquisition by property division also qualifies for a special acquisition tax rate (Local Tax Act Article 15(1), Item 6). Get tax advice as well before deciding the wording and the timing of the registration.

In a judicial divorce, property division is in principle based on the time the final hearing on the facts ends. However, assets one spouse built up alone during a long separation, unrelated to assets made together during the marriage, may be excluded. On the other hand, assets that grew from resources built together before the separation are included. Keep a record of the date the separation began and who paid the living costs after that.

That is difficult. Case law holds that past support can be claimed only for the period after it was requested but not paid (Supreme Court decision of August 25, 2017, 2014스26). Start now by making a request in writing, with the amount and date, so there is a record.

If it is needed for the child's welfare, you can change the child's surname and family origin (성·본) with the family court's permission (Civil Act Article 781(6)). The court decides based on the child's age and wishes, and how changing the surname would affect the child's life.

Yes. The court decides based on the child's welfare, not on whether the parent is the mother or the father. It looks at who has mainly cared for the child, whether the child is living stably now, and whether the parenting plan after the divorce is realistic. Financial ability is only one factor, and any shortfall is considered to be made up through child support. If you have actually handled school drop-offs and pick-ups, doctor visits and school matters, records of that are your strongest material.

If the child is 13 or older, the court must in principle hear the child's opinion before deciding the person with parental authority or the custodial parent (Rules on Family Litigation Articles 18-2 and 100). Younger children may also be interviewed during the family investigation. What the child says does not decide the outcome on its own, and coaching a child to give the answer a parent wants can actually work against that parent.

If it is needed for the child's welfare, you can ask the family court to change the arrangements for custody (Civil Act Article 837(5)), and you can also ask to change the person with parental authority (Civil Act Article 909(6)). An agreement between the parents does not automatically change a court decision, so you must go through the change procedure. You need material showing what has changed since the divorce and how that change affects the child.

You can apply at the same time for a pre-trial measure designating who will care for the child until the judgment (designation of a temporary custodial parent) and for an order to hand over the child (유아인도) (Family Litigation Act Article 62). The court looks carefully at where and how the child is living now, and whether changing the child's environment would be better for the child. Struggling to take the child back at school or daycare can work against you, so go through the court procedure.

No. A change of surname and family origin only changes the name, so the relationship with the biological father for inheritance, support, visitation and child support stays as it is. Changing the legal parent–child relationship itself requires a separate procedure called full adoption (친양자 입양).

You can ask the family court to change the person with parental authority (Civil Act Article 909(6)). If the other parent also agrees, it is often settled fairly quickly through mediation, and once the decision becomes final, you report the change of the person with parental authority within 1 month.

If you have a judgment or a mediation record (조정조서), you can apply for compulsory execution against the other side's deposits, wages or real estate. You can also apply to the family court for a performance order (이행명령) requiring payment, and an administrative fine can be imposed if it is violated.

For a divorce by agreement (협의이혼) where one spouse does not live in Korea, there is a procedure for confirming the intent to divorce through the Seoul Family Court or a Korean embassy or consulate abroad (Act on the Registration of Family Relationships Article 75). For a lawsuit, you first need to work out which country's court will hear it and which country's law applies.

You can receive a split pension (분할연금) if, during your ex-spouse's coverage period, you actually lived together as a married couple for 5 years or more, and after the divorce your ex-spouse becomes entitled to an old-age pension and you reach the pension age (National Pension Act Article 64). You must claim it within 5 years of meeting all the requirements, and if you have not yet reached the age, you can file an advance claim within 3 years of the divorce (Article 64-3 of the same Act). Periods with no real marital relationship, such as separation or one spouse leaving home, are excluded from the marriage period.

A judicial divorce takes effect when the judgment becomes final, but to have it reflected in the family relationship register, you must report it within 1 month of the date it became final, attaching a certified copy of the judgment and a certificate of finality (Act on the Registration of Family Relationships Articles 78 and 58). The person who filed the lawsuit makes the report, and the other spouse may also do so. Missing the deadline without a valid reason can lead to an administrative fine (Article 122 of the same Act).

The right to claim property division expires 2 years after the date of divorce, so in principle you can no longer claim division of those assets. Even when assets not dealt with in the judgment are found later, any additional claim must be made within the 2 years.

Yes. If the marriage lasted 5 years or more during his period of service, you are divorced, your former spouse is entitled to a retirement pension, and you have reached age 65, you receive a split pension. You must claim it from the Government Employees Pension Service within 3 years of meeting the requirements (Public Officials Pension Act Article 45).

A foreign judgment is recognized in Korea only if it meets the recognition requirements in Civil Procedure Act Article 217. If the judgment meets them, you report the divorce with the judgment and a translation attached, and it is reflected in the family relationship register. If the other spouse was only served by public notice (공시송달), the judgment may not be recognized.

Yes. In principle, the spouses must go together to the family court with jurisdiction, submit the application and receive the divorce guidance (Rules on the Registration of Family Relationships Article 73). Only when one spouse is a Korean national living abroad or is in a prison or detention center and cannot attend may one spouse apply alone. A lawyer cannot apply or receive the confirmation on your behalf.

Missing one hearing does not end it right away. If you both attend the second confirmation hearing you were told about when you applied, you can receive the confirmation. However, if a spouse fails to appear twice after receiving notice, the application is treated as withdrawn (Rules on the Registration of Family Relationships Article 77(2)). If your spouse is not showing up because they no longer want a divorce, you should consider mediation or a lawsuit.

If the divorce report has not been filed yet, you can submit a withdrawal of intent to divorce (이혼의사철회서), with the certified copy of the confirmation attached, to the city, town or township office of your place of family registration or address (Rules on the Registration of Family Relationships Article 80). However, if your spouse files the divorce report first, that report is accepted, so you need to act quickly. If no one files a report within 3 months, the court's confirmation also loses its effect.

The part that promises to pay a fixed sum of money can be enforced without a lawsuit if it is made into a notarized deed (공정증서) with a clause consenting to compulsory execution (Civil Execution Act Article 56, Item 4). But a promise to transfer ownership of real estate cannot be enforced with a notarized deed, so if your ex-spouse does not hand over the documents, you will end up having to sue. For this reason, if the terms are complicated, we also consider going through mediation to obtain a mediation record.

Yes. If you ask the family court for a ruling on child support, you can claim not only future child support but also the past child support you paid alone. Case law holds that the limitation period for past child support does not run while the child is a minor, and starts when the child becomes an adult (Supreme Court en banc decision, 2024). If your child is already an adult, the period is already running, so do not delay. However, past support is often reduced in light of the parents' circumstances at the time.

Remarriage alone does not stop it. Even if the custodial parent remarries, no parent–child relationship arises automatically between the new spouse and the child, so the biological parent's duty to pay child support remains. If income or the number of dependents has changed greatly after remarriage, you can ask to change child support, but the court looks at the parents' overall finances and the child's needs together, not just the fact of remarriage.

If you reduce payments on your own, the shortfall becomes unpaid support, and you may face sanctions such as a performance order, detention for contempt (감치) or suspension of your driver's license. If your circumstances have changed, you must reach an agreement with the other parent or ask the family court to change (reduce) the child support (Civil Act Article 837(5)). Child support that is already overdue is hard to reduce later, so file as soon as your circumstances change. Quitting voluntarily or investment losses are rarely accepted as grounds for a reduction.

You can apply if you have a basis such as a judgment setting child support or a child support protocol (양육비부담조서); the average child support received in the 3 months, or the 3 consecutive payments, before applying is less than the advance payment amount; and you have applied to the Child Support Enforcement Agency (양육비이행관리원) for legal or collection support or have gone through procedures such as a performance order or compulsory execution (Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support Payments Article 21-6; Enforcement Decree of the same Act Article 17-5). For cases decided by October 28, 2026, there is an income requirement of 1.5 times the standard median income or less, and from cases decided on or after October 29, this requirement no longer applies. Under current government guidance, the amount is KRW 200,000 per child per month. For inquiries, contact the Child Support Enforcement Agency (1644-6621).

Yes, you do. Visitation and child support are separate obligations, so if you stop paying because you cannot see your child, you become the one subject to a performance order and sanctions. Visitation should be pursued separately through a performance order for visitation.

If you stay married and claim only against the affair partner, you file in a civil court (the district court); if you claim together with a judicial divorce, you file in the family court. In a civil case, the court for the defendant's address is the default, and in some cases you can also file at the court for the place where the wrongful act occurred. This differs from case to case, so we confirm it before filing the complaint.

Infidelity (부정행위) means unfaithful conduct that breaches a spouse's duty of fidelity, so it is not limited by the other person's sex. Even a relationship with a same-sex partner allows a claim for compensation for emotional distress (위자료) if it harmed the couple's shared married life. The requirements and the way of proving it are the same as in other cases.

Even without meeting in person, a long-running conversation premised on a romantic relationship may be recognized as infidelity. However, whether it is recognized and how much is awarded vary greatly with the intensity and duration of the conversations. We organize the content and frequency of the messages by period and assess it from there.

The crime of adultery lost its effect after the Constitutional Court ruled it unconstitutional in 2015, so an affair itself cannot be punished criminally. The way to hold the affair partner responsible is a civil claim for compensation for emotional distress (위자료). However, if another crime such as threats or assault occurred along the way, you can file a separate criminal complaint for that part.

A claim against the affair partner is separate from the divorce, so you can bring it even after divorcing. You do need to check the time limit, though: if you claim on the ground that the marriage broke down, the 3 years run from the date of the divorce; otherwise, they run from the day you learned of the infidelity and the affair partner. If you settled compensation with your spouse in the divorce by agreement (협의이혼), that amount may be taken into account.

Each affair partner is separately liable for their own infidelity. You can name several defendants in one complaint or file separately, but the amount and liability are decided person by person. The evidence and the date you found out differ for each affair partner, so calculate each time limit separately as well.

The two cases proceed separately but dispute the same facts. In the divorce lawsuit, you can raise your spouse's infidelity as a ground for divorce and a basis for compensation, and you can also use the material submitted in the affair lawsuit. Keep your statements consistent so that what you say in the two cases does not conflict.

You can also claim divorce compensation (위자료) from your spouse. However, if it is for the same emotional suffering caused by the same infidelity, the amount you received from the affair partner may be taken into account, so you may not receive the full amount twice. If there are grounds separate from the affair, such as your spouse's verbal abuse or refusal to care for the children, raise those separately.

Your lawsuit against the other woman and her husband's lawsuit against your husband proceed separately, and each gets its own judgment. If both couples stay married, money can end up going in and out of the same household, so sometimes the parties settle by agreeing not to make claims against each other and only promising no contact and confidentiality.

If your spouse consents, deleted chats may be recovered through digital forensics. If you give your spouse's phone to a recovery company without their consent, other legal problems can arise. If recovery is difficult, we first look for material that can be obtained through court procedures.

A lodging payment record is meaningful circumstantial evidence, but it does not show who was there. It gains strength when combined with messages, photos and car movements from the same day. If the payment date is recent, it can also serve as the basis for applying to preserve CCTV footage (증거보전) for that date.

They are sometimes accepted as evidence in a civil trial, but being usable as evidence and being punishable are separate questions. If you unlocked the phone or found out the password and opened it secretly, it may raise issues such as violation of secrecy (비밀침해). If you already have such material, review with us how it was obtained before submitting it.

The application names the other party, and as a rule the other party is also notified of the evidence examination date (Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법) Article 381). In urgent cases, notice may be omitted. If you don't know the affair partner's name, the court may appoint a special representative (특별대리인) to proceed (Article 378 of the same Act).

Methods such as following and filming someone or secretly finding out a person's address can create legal problems even for the person who hired the investigator. Even if the agency brings back material, an unlawful method of collection gives the other side grounds to file a criminal complaint. Before hiring anyone, confirm what they will do and how, and first check whether the material can be obtained through court procedures.

Recording a conversation you are not part of is a crime under the Protection of Communications Secrets Act (통신비밀보호법) that carries imprisonment with no fine option. On April 30, 2026, the Supreme Court held that a recording obtained this way is not admissible as evidence even in a lawsuit for affair compensation (2024다222212). You would bear the risk of punishment and still be unable to use it as evidence, so find another way.

Collecting someone's location information without their consent can be punished under the Location Information Act (위치정보법) with up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 30 million. This applies between spouses as well. If you need their movements, first look for material that can be obtained through court procedures, such as card payment records or CCTV at lodging businesses.

The court does not separately notify your company of the lawsuit or the judgment. However, if a provisional attachment (가압류) or seizure is placed on your salary, your company receives the court order, so it may come out that way. Some people resolve the case through mediation or settlement to avoid this.

Sometimes the other person's spouse gives an untrue account to protect their own family. In that case, you rebut it with objective material, such as chat records that contradict the testimony or messages in which they first suggested meeting. This is why you should not delete your records with the other person's spouse.

The court does not separately inform your family about the lawsuit. However, if the complaint or other documents are delivered to your home, a family member may receive them. Once you appoint a legal representative, later documents go to the representative, so it is better to decide quickly, even after the first service.

If they spread the facts at your company or on social media, you can file a separate criminal complaint for defamation (명예훼손) under Criminal Act (형법) Article 307; if they came and threatened you, for threats (협박) and similar offenses. However, that complaint and your liability for the affair are judged separately. Save the posts and messages so the dates are visible.

If you were unaware of the lawsuit through no fault of your own, you can file a late appeal (추후보완 항소) within 2 weeks from the day that reason ceased, usually the day you learned of the judgment entered after service by publication (공시송달) (Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법) Article 173). The period is short, so check the seizure order and the judgment right away. To stop enforcement, you must also file a separate application for a stay of execution (집행정지).

It is wiser not to reply. Contact during the lawsuit can be used by the plaintiff as evidence that the relationship is continuing, and it becomes a reason to raise the amount. Keep a record of declining contact, but do not continue the conversation.

If you file an objection within 2 weeks of receiving the original of the recommendation for settlement (화해권고결정), the case goes back to trial (Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법) Article 226). If you don't object, it takes the same effect as a judicial settlement and can no longer be contested. Compare it with the amount you would expect from a judgment and decide within the deadline.

Yes. Under Supreme Court case law, the affair partner who argues that the marriage had already broken down beyond repair at the time of the infidelity must prove it (Supreme Court Decision 2022므13504, 13511, rendered June 27, 2024). Rather than what the other person's spouse told you, you need objective material such as records of a divorce filing or a change of address.

A settlement amount is decided by the parties, so it can be higher or lower than what a judgment would likely award. The amount may also change if the other side wants to finish quickly or wants to avoid a written judgment on record. Also keep in mind that insisting on an unreasonable amount can break down the settlement and drag out the lawsuit.

You can settle at any time before judgment is delivered. Once you settle, the case ends with a withdrawal of the lawsuit or with court mediation (조정) or a recommendation for settlement (화해권고결정). If it is resolved through the court, it has the same effect as a judicial settlement, so you can seek compulsory execution if the promise is not kept.

Installments are possible. However, include a clause that if even one payment is missed, the remaining balance becomes due at once, and if you put it in a notarial deed (공정증서) consenting to compulsory execution, you can enforce it immediately when a payment is missed. Also write the payment dates and the bank account in the settlement agreement.

A settlement agreement cannot physically prevent them from meeting. Instead, if you set a no-contact clause and a penalty for breach (위약벌), the price of meeting again becomes clear. If the clause is breached, you claim the penalty, and for any relationship newly continued after the settlement, we look at whether a separate claim for compensation is possible.

If the agreement contains a no-further-claims clause (부제소 합의) saying no further lawsuit will be brought over this matter, you submit the agreement and ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit. However, a lawsuit over new meetings after the period covered by the settlement may be judged separately. Keep the original agreement and the payment records.

There is no fixed table and the differences between cases are large, so it is hard to name a figure in advance. The court sets the amount by looking at the length and extent of the relationship, whether the affair partner knew of the marriage, their attitude after being found out, and whether the marriage broke down. A long relationship, continuing to meet after being found out, or a marriage that ended in divorce pushes the amount up; a short relationship that ended soon, or a marriage that had already been badly shaken beforehand, pushes it down.

The length of the marriage is one of many factors. A short marriage can be a factor that lowers the amount, but infidelity from the very start of a marriage is sometimes seen as having deepened the suffering. In the end, the nature of the infidelity and what happened afterward are considered together.

A sincere apology and ending the relationship can be taken into account when the amount is set. On the other hand, what is written in a letter of apology can also be used as evidence admitting liability. If you are the defendant, decide the scope and wording of the apology first; if you are the plaintiff, weigh the terms separately from the apology before accepting it.

Pregnancy or the birth of a child outside the marriage can be considered when setting compensation, as a circumstance showing that the infidelity was serious. However, the amount is decided case by case, looking also at the length of the marriage, the length of the relationship and whether there is a divorce. You also need to sort out whether the pregnancy claim is true and how acknowledgment of paternity (인지) and child support will be handled.

A salary garnishment order is served on the company, so the company learns of the garnishment. Because this is service under a court procedure, it is different from the plaintiff telling the company directly. In many cases, the other party, wanting to avoid this, gets in touch first.

Written judgments can be viewed by the public, but personal information such as the parties' names is redacted (Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법) Article 163-2). Some details of the case still remain, so if you don't want a written judgment on record, consider ending the case through mediation or settlement.

We explain the fees after the consultation, once we have heard the details of the case and the scope of work. They depend on whether you are the plaintiff or the defendant, whether the case ends in settlement or goes to trial, and whether procedures such as evidence preservation are needed.

You can send us a message through the chat on this page at any time, including weekends and public holidays. Consultations are available at our main office in Seoul and our branch offices in Incheon, Hongseong and Songpa, and you are welcome to message us first and describe your situation before visiting.

Lawyers must not disclose secrets learned in the course of their work (Attorney-at-Law Act (변호사법) Article 26). We do not disclose the fact or content of a consultation to anyone without the client's consent. Consultations are conducted personally by a managing partner. At Jisan Law, we do not hide behind office managers or associate lawyers.

As a rule, litigation costs are borne by the losing party (Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법) Article 98), and the other side's lawyer's fees are included in litigation costs within the limits set by Supreme Court rules (Article 109 of the same Act). If each side partly wins and partly loses, the court decides the ratio (Article 101 of the same Act).

Bring notes on how you found out about the affair, materials such as screenshots or photos, and whatever you know about the affair partner. If you received a complaint or a certified letter, also bring the envelope and the notice so we can check the deadline right away. It's fine if your materials are not organized.

Even if you tell only one person, if that person is likely to spread it to others, the publicity element (공연성) of defamation may be recognized. If the purpose is clear, such as asking for the two to be separated at work, and the wording is restrained, there is room to argue, but the outcome is hard to predict. Before telling anyone, first consider blocking contact through mediation in the affair lawsuit or a settlement agreement.

Demanding money under threat of exposure can amount to extortion (공갈) or threats (협박). Do not send money, and keep the messages and call records of the demand exactly as they are. If the contact is repeated or they come to see you, you can also report it as stalking.

An affair is a private matter, so on its own it is hard to see as a legitimate ground for discipline. However, if it disrupted work or risked harming the company's reputation, discipline may be upheld. What you say in the disciplinary process can also affect the affair lawsuit, so prepare your written explanation in advance before submitting it.

If there is nothing wrong with the documents, the written decision accepting it usually comes within 1 to 2 months after filing. It can take longer depending on the court's workload or if you receive an order to correct (보정명령). The deadline only requires that your filing is received in time, so waiting for the result does not put you at a disadvantage.

The filing must include documents such as the deceased's basic certificate (기본증명서) and resident registration abstract of a deregistered person (말소자 주민등록초본), so in practice you file after the death has been reported. The death must be reported within 1 month from the day you learned of it.

If the deceased's children renounce while the deceased's spouse is alive, the spouse becomes the sole heir and the grandchildren do not become heirs. If there is no spouse, or the spouse has also renounced, the grandchildren become the next heirs. In that case, either the grandchildren also renounce, or you consider having one person take limited acceptance (한정승인) from the start.

If your uncle had no spouse, children or parents, and his siblings (such as your parent) are also gone or have all renounced, you as his nephew or niece, a collateral blood relative within the fourth degree, can become an heir. To avoid his debts, you must also renounce or file for limited acceptance within 3 months from the day you learned that everyone ahead of you had renounced.

Limited acceptance is a procedure for paying debts out of the estate. If the house is the only asset and the debts are larger, it often ends up being sold at auction. If you want to keep the house, check in advance whether you can pay creditors an amount equal to the estate's value from your own money.

If you accept the inheritance, you take over the principal, interest and late-payment damages exactly as they are. If you renounce, you take over none of it. If you take limited acceptance, you are liable only up to the value of the estate.

The deceased's unpaid national and local taxes are also debts of the estate. If you renounce, as a rule you do not take them over, and if you take limited acceptance, you must pay them only up to the value of the estate. However, if an heir who renounced or took limited acceptance received insurance money because of the death, that money may be treated as inherited property and the heir may have to pay the deceased's national taxes from it (Framework Act on National Taxes (국세기본법) Article 24(2)). Taxes that arise for the heir personally, such as inheritance tax, are a separate matter.

No. Renunciation of inheritance only takes effect if it is filed with the family court after the inheritance begins, that is, after the death, within 3 months from the day you learned that the inheritance began (Civil Act Articles 1019 and 1041). A written promise to renounce made while he is alive, or documents filed in advance, will not protect you from the debts, so you must file again within the deadline after his death.

Renunciation means you never inherit the deceased's debts in the first place, so renouncing does not cause the deceased's debts to be recorded as yours. However, if you acted as a guarantor for the deceased's loan, or took out a loan jointly with them, that part remains your debt regardless of the renunciation. First check whether there are any guarantor documents.

Do not spend it; keep it as it is. A person who renounced must continue to manage the estate until the person who became heir because of the renunciation can manage it (Civil Act Article 1044). Write down the date and amount you received, and hand it over once the next heir is determined. Spending this money could be treated as wrongful use after renunciation.

For inheritance purposes, an unborn child is treated as already born and becomes an heir (Civil Act Article 1000(3)). So even if the whole family renounces, the baby's share must be handled separately, and after the birth the parent with parental authority files the renunciation or limited acceptance on the child's behalf. If the parent's and the child's interests conflict, a special representative (특별대리인) may be needed, and the deadline must be worked out case by case, so get advice right after the birth.

The business debts of a sole proprietor are your father's personal debts, so they are inherited as they are. Closing the shop does not make the debts disappear, so if you do not know how large they are, consider limited acceptance or renunciation within 3 months. Disposing of stock or equipment while winding up can be treated as simple acceptance (단순승인), so be careful about the order of steps.

Each agency sends its results by text message, and you check the details on that agency's site: the Financial Supervisory Service (금융감독원) site for financial accounts, Hometax (the National Tax Service's online portal) for national taxes, each pension service for pensions, and so on. Follow the instructions on your application receipt and print the results from each agency's site. Financial search results can be viewed on the Financial Supervisory Service website only for 3 months from the application date.

Yes. Searching for assets is not a disposal of estate property, so it does not affect your renunciation. However, the Safe Inheritance One-Stop Service (안심상속 원스톱서비스) must be applied for within 1 year from the last day of the month in which the person died.

Notify the mobile carrier of the death and cancel the line. Any remaining charges are treated as a debt of the estate. Automatic payments for utilities and insurance may stop once the account is blocked after the death is reported, so change how they are paid in advance. If you are thinking of renouncing, it is safer not to take new money out of the deceased's account to pay them.

Money owed to the deceased is also part of the estate, so the heirs receive it according to their statutory shares, or the person chosen by agreement receives it. However, if you are thinking of renouncing or taking limited acceptance, collecting and spending it can count as disposing of the estate, so it is safer not to collect it before you decide.

The usual way is to submit an agreement signed by all the heirs, or the required documents, to the securities company and move the holdings into an account in the heir's name. Because share prices keep changing, you need to consider both the valuation date for inheritance tax and the timing of the division agreement.

The Safe Inheritance One-Stop Service must be applied for within 1 year from the last day of the month of death, and online applications through Government24 (the government's online portal) are open only to first- and second-ranked heirs. If the period has passed or the online route is blocked, visit a community service center (주민센터), or apply separately for the Financial Supervisory Service's inquiry into an heir's financial transactions. You apply for that inquiry at the Financial Supervisory Service, a bank, a post office or similar, submitting the basic certificate (or death certificate), a family relationship certificate based on the deceased, and your ID. Results usually come within 20 days and can be viewed on the website for 3 months from the application date.

Notarization is not required. If every heir stamps it with their registered seal and attaches a certificate of seal impression (인감증명서), it can be used for registration and banking. If an heir lives abroad, a signature certificate or local notarization may be needed.

Even if the heirs agree to divide the estate differently from the statutory shares, a division made before the first inheritance registration is, as a rule, treated as acquired by inheritance. However, readjusting shares again after registration may be treated as a gift, so timing matters. The specific tax should be checked with a tax accountant.

If you cannot agree, you can ask for division by auction in an adjudication on division of the estate (상속재산분할). If the house has already been registered in your statutory shares and is co-owned, you can also seek an auction through a lawsuit for partition of co-owned property (공유물분할). Which procedure fits depends on the registration status and whether there are special benefit or contribution share issues.

If your mother died before your father's inheritance was settled, the share she would have received from your father passes in turn to her heirs. The two inheritances must be calculated in order, and in a blended family the heirs may differ, so the first step is to sort out the family relationships.

Until division, the estate is co-owned, so as a rule the costs of managing it are also shared according to each heir's share. If one person paid on behalf of the others, keep a record of the amounts and ask for them to be settled in the division adjudication.

A renunciation applies only to this inheritance from your father and has nothing to do with the inheritance when your mother dies in the future. However, to give the house to your mother, a division by agreement, in which all the heirs sign an agreement and the house is registered in your mother's name alone, is more common than renunciation. Renunciation also settles the debts and cannot be undone, so decide after looking at whether there are debts and at the taxes.

Yes. The base amount is calculated by taking the property at the date of death, adding the gifts that are counted, and deducting the full amount of the estate's debts (Civil Act (민법) Article 1113). If the debts are large, the forced heirship share (유류분) is reduced accordingly.

Even when the recipient of a bequest or gift is an organization rather than an heir, it can be subject to a forced heirship share claim. However, a lifetime gift is only counted if it was made within 1 year before the death, or if both sides knew it would harm the forced heirship share.

Many cases end in mediation during the lawsuit. Once the appraisal results come out and the amount becomes reasonably clear, it is easier to find a figure both sides can accept. Payment in installments or how to arrange shares in real estate can also be decided in mediation.

Unless it is legally blocked, you can sell it, but selling during the lawsuit may lead to a provisional injunction or weaken your position in negotiations. For inheritances that began on or after March 17, 2026, the rule is to return value in money, so the issue becomes raising the amount to be returned rather than the sale itself.

If your parent died first and you became your grandparent's heir by representation (대습상속), you can take over and claim the forced heirship share your parent would have had. If there are several siblings, you divide your parent's share among you.

No. The 2024 Constitutional Court decision abolished only the forced heirship share of the deceased's siblings. Children and spouses still have a forced heirship share of one half of their statutory share, and parents one third. However, some things have changed for inheritances that began on or after March 17, 2026: as a rule, value is returned in money, and gifts received in return for specially supporting a parent may be excluded from the calculation to that extent. Start by checking the date of death.

This is commonly confused. The 10 years for a forced heirship share run not from the date of the gift but from the date the inheritance began, that is, the date of death (Civil Act Article 1117). Also, under case law, gifts received by co-heirs are counted even if they were made long ago. The 10-year look-back for gifts is part of the inheritance tax calculation, which is a different matter. What you should check first is the much shorter period of 1 year from the day you learned of the gift or bequest.

No. A will is valid without notarization if it meets the requirements for a handwritten will (자필증서 유언). However, a handwritten will needs a court inspection (검인) after the death and easily leads to disputes over the handwriting or mental capacity, so if a dispute is expected, a notarized will (공정증서 유언) is recommended.

The executor can be named in the will, or the will can leave the choice to a third party. If no one is named, the heirs become the executors, and the family court appoints one if needed. Naming a neutral person who is not receiving property reduces disputes during execution.

A diagnosis alone does not take away the capacity to make a will. The test is whether, at the time of the will, the person could understand and judge their own property and the content of the will. A person under adult guardianship can make a will when their mental capacity has recovered, and a doctor must record that condition in the will and sign and seal it (Civil Act Article 1063).

This can be set up as a bequest with a burden. If the recipient does not carry out the burden, the heirs or the executor can set a period and demand performance, and if it is still not performed, they can ask the court to revoke the will (Civil Act Article 1111).

Handwriting analysis or a court-ordered review of medical records is often needed, so the first instance alone commonly takes around a year. Meanwhile, you must keep track of the deadline for a forced heirship share claim so it does not pass.

If, after making a will, a person does something during their lifetime that conflicts with it, that part of the will is treated as revoked (Civil Act Article 1109). If the house was sold, the gift of that house in the will has no effect, and whether the beneficiary can receive the sale proceeds instead must be examined separately based on the wording of the will.

A de facto spouse (common-law partner) is not an heir. Only when there are no other heirs at all can they ask, as a person with a special relationship to the deceased, to be granted part of the estate, and this must be done within 2 months after the public notice period searching for heirs ends (Civil Act Article 1057-2).

After a divorce, the person is no longer a spouse and has no inheritance rights. However, children born to the former couple are heirs as children, regardless of their parents' divorce.

If the father acknowledged the child or there is a court judgment of acknowledgment, the child has the same share as any other child. If the acknowledgment came after the estate was already divided, the child can claim payment of the value of their share of the divided estate (Civil Act Article 1014). This claim must be made within 3 years from the day the child learned of the infringement. However, on June 27, 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled the 10-years-from-infringement limit unconstitutional (2021헌마1588), so the claim is not barred merely because the estate was divided long ago.

If a child or sibling died before the deceased, that person's lineal descendants and spouse inherit in their place (inheritance by representation, 대습상속). A daughter-in-law or son-in-law can become an heir this way. When an heir is disqualified or has been declared to have lost inheritance rights, their lineal descendants still inherit by representation, but under the Civil Act as amended on March 17, 2026, the spouse cannot inherit by representation in that case (Articles 1001 and 1003(2)).

Yes. All of your father's children have the same rank and the same share, regardless of who their mother is (Civil Act Article 1009(1)). A child born outside marriage becomes an heir only after the father registers an acknowledgment or there is a court judgment of acknowledgment.

We explain the fees after the consultation, once we have looked at the type and scope of the case. Work with a set procedure, like filing a renunciation of inheritance, differs greatly from lawsuits such as forced heirship share claims or division adjudications, where appraisals and inquiries follow one after another.

Consultations are available at our main office in Seoul and our branch offices in Incheon, Hongseong and Songpa. Send us a message through the chat on this page and we will arrange the nearest office and a time.

Several heirs in the same position can hire us together. However, if the heirs' interests conflict on some points, one lawyer may not be able to represent both sides, so we check this first in the consultation.

No provision sets a deadline for inheritance registration itself, so registering late does not lead to a fine. However, acquisition tax must be reported within 6 months from the last day of the month in which the inheritance began (9 months if an heir has an address abroad), and a penalty tax is added after that (Local Tax Act (지방세법) Article 20). Also keep in mind that if another heir dies while you wait, more people will be involved in sorting it out.

All the co-heirs are sellers, so the rule is that each receives the price according to their share. If you agree that one person's account will receive it and then divide it, put that agreement in writing, including the settlement date and amounts. If the person who received the money does not settle up, that document becomes the basis for a claim to get it back.

They are not split according to inheritance shares. Industrial accident survivor benefits are paid in the order set by law: first the spouse, children, parents, grandchildren and grandparents who shared a household with the worker at the time of death, and if several people are in the same rank, they share equally (Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (산업재해보상보험법) Article 65). If the worker designated a recipient by will, that designation is followed.

The forced heirship share and inheritance shares can only be claimed after the inheritance begins, so it is hard for another child to directly challenge the gift while your mother is alive. If your mother was not in a state to make sound decisions at the time of the gift, she herself or her guardian can claim the gift is invalid. For now, the realistic step is to gather materials showing how the gift came about and your mother's condition.

A guardian may use the parent's property only for the parent's benefit. Whether the guardian is paid is decided by the family court on the guardian's request, based on the parent's financial situation (Civil Act Article 955). Do not take money on your own, and keep records and receipts of all spending.

Criminal proceedings decide whether someone is punished. To get the money back, you need a separate civil procedure, such as a claim for its return or a division of the estate. Transaction records confirmed during the investigation can be used as evidence in the civil case, and the other side sometimes offers to settle.