How to Obtain an International Divorce and How to Have Your Divorce Recognized, Explored with an International Divorce Attorney

An international divorce attorney provides a clear summary for foreign nationals who are considering a divorce lawsuit.

If you are a foreign national who married a Korean spouse and resides in Korea, and you no longer wish to maintain the marriage and want to divorce quickly, please be sure to read this.

Even if you and your spouse have different nationalities or one of you is staying abroad, you do not necessarily have to go to the other party's country to conduct a divorce lawsuit.

This is because a court of the Republic of Korea permits an international divorce lawsuit if the case is recognized as having a substantial connection with Korea.

There is something we always inform clients of when conducting a divorce lawsuit with an international divorce attorney.

That is the fact that Korean law does not apply to every divorce lawsuit.

Under 「Article 64 of the Act on Private International Law」 of Korea, the applicable law (governing law) is determined in the following order.

However, if one of the spouses is a Korean national with Korean nationality and resides (has a habitual residence) in Korea, the Civil Act of the Republic of Korea applies first, regardless of the order above.

If the Civil Act of the Republic of Korea applies and you conduct an international divorce lawsuit together with an international divorce attorney, the trial proceeds in the following order.

① Documents to prepare before starting the lawsuit

Before proceeding to trial, the Korean court first checks whether both sides can reach an agreement on the divorce. This is called conciliation.

Documents to prepare

• A Korean translation is required for documents such as a marriage certificate obtained in the home country
• Notarization, apostille, or consular confirmation proving that the documents are genuine is required
• If your Korean is limited, an interpreter can be assigned by applying to the court in advance

② When the spouse is abroad or cannot be reached

If the spouse is not in Korea now but abroad, service abroad, in which documents are sent by international mail, is carried out.

Where you have no idea where the spouse is, a system called 'service by publication' is used.

This is a system whereby, when the court posts a public notice, the documents are deemed to have been delivered to the spouse, allowing the international divorce lawsuit to proceed even without the spouse.

③ The six grounds on which divorce is recognized in Korea

To proceed with an international divorce under Korean law, you must prove at least 1 of the following 6 grounds.

1. The spouse committed adultery
2. The spouse left home with malicious intent or failed to care for me
3. I was severely mistreated by the spouse (or the spouse's parents)
4. The spouse committed severe wrongdoing against my parents
5. It has been more than 3 years since it was unknown whether the spouse is alive or dead
6. There is another serious reason making it difficult to continue the marriage

Before looking for an international divorce attorney, some of you may have already conducted an international divorce lawsuit abroad (such as in a court in your home country) and received a divorce judgment.

However, receiving a divorce judgment from a foreign court does not mean that the judgment automatically takes effect in Korea.

All four of the following conditions must be satisfied for the divorce to be recognized as having taken place in Korea as well.

• Did the court have jurisdiction to adjudicate : That foreign court must have had authority under international law to adjudicate this case.
• Was proper notice given : The spouse who lost the case must have received the complaint or known the trial schedule through a proper method (a case conducted secretly is not recognized, and even if notice was not received, it is recognized if the spouse participated in the trial on their own).
• Does it not violate Korean public order : The content of the judgment or the trial process must not seriously violate the basic common sense and order of Korea.
• Is there a relationship of mutual recognition : Korea and that country must have a relationship in which they recognize each other's judgments at a comparable level.

If a judgment of a Korean court on the divorce case of the same couple became final first, and thereafter a judgment of 'dismissal of divorce' was rendered abroad, that foreign judgment has no effect in Korea.

In this way, if you have received a 'recognizable divorce judgment,' you can complete the divorce report at a city or district office within 1 month by preparing the divorce judgment and its Korean translation documents, and the official in charge will then review the judgment.

Then, after reviewing whether it is a divorce judgment that can also be recognized in Korea, if it passes, the 'divorce' is legally finalized.