We are a couple in our fifth year of marriage. Is a forced divorce possible?

Hello. I am a divorce attorney at Daeryun Law LLC.

To answer your question about "forced divorce," there is no separate legal term "forced divorce" as such, and it is generally used as an expression referring to a judicial divorce that proceeds without the spouse's consent.

Even if the spouse does not consent to the divorce, if there are grounds recognized by the court, a divorce is possible through litigation, and many people commonly understand this procedure as a "forced divorce."

Beyond what you have asked, a divorce may be sought where there are grounds such as the spouse's infidelity, malicious desertion, serious unjust treatment, or other grave grounds that make it difficult to continue the marriage.

However, mere differences of opinion or frequent quarrels alone are difficult to recognize as grounds for a judicial divorce, and it must be proven with objective evidence that the marital relationship has broken down to the point where it cannot be restored.

In this process, various forms of evidence, such as text messages, recordings, and statements, can play an important role.

In addition, if you are the party at fault who provided the main cause of the marital breakdown, there is also a possibility that the divorce claim will be dismissed.

Therefore, in the case of a forced divorce, a process of legally reviewing the course of the marital breakdown and the cause of the conflict and where responsibility lies is necessary.

Where there is a child, custody is determined with the child's welfare as the foremost standard. Factors such as who the primary caregiver currently is, the child's age, the caregiving environment, and the parents' willingness and ability to raise the child are comprehensively considered.

In addition, even if one party obtains custody through the divorce process, the other party's visitation rights are, in principle, guaranteed.

Retaining an attorney does not immediately establish a forced divorce, but if you can sufficiently prove a cause of marital breakdown that amounts to a ground for judicial divorce, you can proceed with the divorce even without the spouse's consent.

In the course of going through the various procedures, a Daeryun divorce attorney can provide legal advice in relation to the filing of a divorce suit, consolation money, the division of marital property, and custody.

Daeryun, ranked 9th among law firms in Korea (based on 2025 National Tax Service value-added tax filings), provides trust-based legal services.