How to Divorce a Korean, Explained by a Vietnamese Consultation Attorney: A Must-Read Before Consulting an Attorney

To divorce by agreement, you must first receive guidance on divorce from the family court, then, after the reflection period prescribed by law, have your intention to divorce confirmed.

The reflection period is 3 months where there is a minor child, and 1 month where there is none.

However, if there are circumstances in which unbearable suffering is anticipated unless you divorce immediately, such as domestic violence, you can reduce or be exempted from the reflection period by submitting a statement of reasons to the court.

After your intention to divorce is confirmed, you must complete the divorce report within 3 months from the date you receive a certified copy of the confirmation for the divorce to be legally established.

The matters you must check when divorcing by agreement are as follows.

And to actually apply for a divorce by agreement, the spouses must attend together at the family court having jurisdiction over the spouses' registered domicile or address and submit an 'application for confirmation of intention to divorce by agreement.'

The documents required at this time are as follows.

A judicial divorce is not possible merely for the reason that "I want a divorce"; there must be a ground for divorce prescribed by law.

Representative grounds for a judicial divorce are as follows.

What should you do if your Korean spouse does not consent to the divorce and you wish to file for a judicial divorce first?

First, the procedure begins by submitting a divorce complaint or an application for divorce conciliation to the competent family court.

To obtain a judicial divorce, in principle you must first go through the family court's conciliation procedure.

However, where the other party cannot be summoned by any method other than service by publication, or where there is no possibility of conciliation being established, the conciliation procedure may be omitted and the lawsuit may proceed directly.

The documents required when applying for the family court conciliation procedure are as follows.

Custody is the right and responsibility to directly raise and care for a child.

Put simply, it is deciding with whom the child will live and grow up.

The person who feeds the child, sends them to school, takes them to the hospital, and cares for the child every day is the custodian.

At the time of divorce, the parents decide by talking with each other, or, if they cannot agree, the court decides.

At this point, the court determines the custodian by carefully considering the following matters.

If you want custody, it is advisable to prepare materials showing that you can raise the child well.

For example, the following materials may be used.

Child support is the money needed to raise a child.

Even if the parents divorce, the responsibility to raise the child rests with both parents.

So a parent who does not live with the child must, in many cases, pay child support until the child becomes an adult.

Child support can be decided by the parents talking with each other, but if they cannot agree, the court decides the amount by considering various matters.

The matters the court considers when determining child support are as follows.

At this point, there is no need to give up just because the other party does not pay child support.

If you request payment of child support from the court, or if the other party continues not to pay the already-determined child support, you can demand payment through the procedures prescribed by law.

Reviewing the child support suited to your situation and carrying out the necessary procedures with the help of a Vietnamese consultation attorney can help you stably protect the child's livelihood.