When you're asked to sign a settlement agreement

Even if you're told to sign by the end of today, don't rush. Start with the following.

• Get the draft agreement as a photo or file. Don't sign the original on the spot.
• Highlight the amount, due date, penalty amount and scope of the no-contact clause.
• Check exactly who is party to the agreement, including whether the unfaithful spouse also signs.
• Note how far wording such as "no civil or criminal objections of any kind will be raised" extends.
• Agree on a signing date with the other side, and have the wording reviewed before then.

Even if the other side presses you to sign by threatening to tell your company or family, don't sign because of that pressure alone. Threatening exposure while demanding money can amount to threats (협박) or extortion (공갈) (Criminal Act (형법) Articles 283 and 350), so keep such messages rather than deleting them.

Also avoid withdrawing a pending lawsuit before the money comes in. If you are the one receiving, confirm the deposit first. Remember, too, that if you withdraw a lawsuit after a judgment on the merits, you cannot bring the same lawsuit again (Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법) Article 267(2)).

For the amount, state whether it is a lump sum or installments, and if installments, whether the remaining balance becomes due at once if even one payment is missed. For no contact, list calls, texts, social media and in-person meetings one by one, and separately set out an exception for unavoidable work contact if the two work at the same place.

For the confidentiality penalty for breach (위약벌), look at the balance of the amounts. If the confidentiality penalty is much smaller than the settlement amount, the party who received the money loses little by paying the penalty and spreading rumors anyway, so the clause loses its force.

Also write down the bank account and account holder for the settlement payment and how the deposit will be confirmed. The parties should sign in person, and getting a copy of each other's ID reduces later disputes that someone else signed. Make two copies of the agreement with identical content, and each side keeps one.

If the agreement just says "breach payment" (위약금), it is presumed to be liquidated damages (손해배상액의 예정), and the court can reduce it if it finds it unreasonably excessive (Civil Act (민법) Article 398). To make clear that the money is imposed as a penalty, write "penalty for breach." However, even a penalty for breach can be partly invalidated if it is excessively heavy, so setting a realistic amount actually increases the chance that you can collect it.

You also need to decide whether the penalty is "a certain amount per contact" or "a lump sum upon breach." A per-contact penalty requires proving how many contacts there were, while a lump sum attaches a large amount even to minor breaches and easily leads to disputes. Either way, what counts as a breach must be clearly stated in writing.

A no-further-lawsuits clause (부제소 합의) is a promise not to sue again over this matter. If you are the one receiving, write down the period of infidelity covered by the settlement, so that relationships newly discovered after the settlement or renewed meetings can be claimed separately. A waiver of reimbursement (구상권) clause means the paying side gives up the right to recover money from their affair partner, so the paying side should weigh it together with the amount before signing.

With only a settlement agreement, if the other side doesn't pay, you have to sue again. If you make it a notarial deed (공정증서) with consent to compulsory execution (Civil Execution Act (민사집행법) Article 56, item 4) or a court pre-suit settlement (제소전화해) (Civil Procedure Act Article 385), the monetary part can be enforced immediately. If a lawsuit is pending, resolving it with a mediation record (조정조서) or settlement record (화해조서) has the same effect.

Jisan Law rereads each clause of the draft agreement from the perspective of both the receiving and the paying side, and marks missing clauses and wording likely to cause disputes later. We also look at how far the amount offered differs from the range a judgment would be expected to award. A managing partner handles the consultation personally. We don't hide behind office managers or associate lawyers; we go through the material you bring from the start, together with you. We explain the fees after the consultation, once we have heard the details of the case and the scope of work.

Even if you're due to sign tomorrow, you can send us a message through the chat on this page tonight.