When your ex won't pay the child support set at the divorce

Any procedure can begin only once the following four things are ready.

• Find out whether you have a judgment, a mediation record or a child support protocol. If you divorced by agreement, you will have the child support protocol you received from the court.
• Make a monthly table of the agreed payment dates and amounts and the money actually received. Download your bank statements for the period as a PDF from your banking app.
• Write down your ex's workplace and address, and any accounts and vehicles you know of. Knowing the workplace opens the way to receiving payment straight from wages.
• Take screenshots of text messages asking for payment and your ex's replies, and make future requests by text rather than by phone.

If you threaten your ex over child support or start contacting their family, you could end up being the one facing a criminal complaint.

• Refusing to let your ex see the child because they don't pay (visitation is a separate obligation, so you could become subject to a performance order)
• Going to your ex's home or workplace and causing a scene
• Agreeing only verbally to reduce the overdue amount
• Waiting for years, hoping they will pay someday

If you have a judgment, mediation record, ruling or child support protocol (양육비부담조서), you can apply directly for compulsory execution or a performance order (이행명령) without a separate lawsuit. If there was only a verbal promise or an agreement written between the two of you, you must first ask the family court for a ruling on child support to fix the amount.

In a child support ruling, you can claim not only future child support but also past child support you paid alone. The amount is set based on the Child Support Guidelines (양육비 산정기준표), reflecting the parents' incomes and the child's age.

If preparing the documents on your own is difficult, you can also apply to the Child Support Enforcement Agency (양육비이행관리원) for representation in a child support lawsuit, legal support for enforcement, or collection support (Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support Payments (양육비 이행확보 및 지원에 관한 법률) Article 11).

If your ex receives wages from a company, a direct payment order (직접지급명령) is the most reliable route. If payment has been missed twice or more without a valid reason, the court orders the company to deduct child support from the wages and send it directly (Family Litigation Act (가사소송법) Article 63-2). If your ex changes jobs, the company must notify the court within 1 week.

If your ex is self-employed or has no wages, we consider a security order (담보제공명령) requiring security to be provided and, if that is not followed, a lump-sum payment order (일시금지급명령) requiring the child support to be paid all at once (Article 63-3 of the same Act). Money already overdue is collected by seizing deposits or real estate.

A performance order is a procedure in which the court orders payment within a set period. If it is violated, an administrative fine of up to KRW 10 million can be imposed, and if three or more regular child support payments are missed, you can apply for detention (감치) for up to 30 days (Articles 64, 67 and 68 of the same Act). Detention is a means of pressure and does not collect the money for you, so it is used together with seizure.

If, despite a performance order, the overdue child support is KRW 30 million or more or three or more payments are missed, the matter can go through review to driver's license suspension, a travel ban and public disclosure of the name (Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support Payments Articles 21-3 to 21-5). Failing to pay within 1 year after a detention order is subject to criminal punishment (Article 27 of the same Act).

You can apply for advance payment (선지급) if you have the underlying documents; 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 for legal or collection support from the Child Support Enforcement Agency or gone through a procedure such as a performance order. The government recovers the money it paid in advance from your ex.

For cases decided by October 28, 2026, household income must be no more than 1.5 times the standard median income, and from cases decided on or after October 29, this income requirement no longer applies. Even if you applied earlier, if the decision is made on or after October 29, it may be decided regardless of income. Under current government guidance, the amount is KRW 200,000 per minor child per month, does not exceed the child support set in the judgment or record, and can be received until the child becomes an adult. Detailed requirements can be checked with the Child Support Enforcement Agency (1644-6621).

While receiving advance payments, you must notify the Agency if your ex pays child support directly or the amount changes (Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support Payments Article 21-7(4)). If your ex pays even part of it, the advance payment may be reduced or stopped.

At Jisan Law, we first check how your ex earns income and decide the order of a direct payment order, seizure and a performance order. If you do not have the underlying documents, we prepare a child support ruling with you first.

If you learn new information about your ex's workplace or assets, let us know through the chat on this page before you forget.