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  In many jurisdictions, if a marriage is broken, the court grants a divorce regardless of who is to blame. In South Korea, the starting point is the opposite. In Korea, a judicial divorce (재판상 이혼) is not simply about whether a marriage has ended emotionally. Courts apply a fault-based principle (유책주의) as a core rule: the spouse who is primarily responsible for the breakdown of the marriage...

When a marriage has reached a point of no return but does not neatly fit into categories like infidelity or physical abuse, the Korean Civil Act Article 840(6) provides a “catch-all” provision. It allows for a judicial divorce “if there exists any other serious cause making it difficult to continue the marriage.” For many expats, this is the most critical ground to understand, as it covers...

  When a spouse disappears and their whereabouts are unknown, the problem in Korea is not just emotional but legal. Civil Act Article 840(5) provides a specific basis in Korean law for what is sometimes called a spouse missing divorce in Korea, a judicial divorce when the other spouse’s life or death has been unknown for three years or more. On paper, this looks like one of the more...

  When a marriage in Korea breaks down and spouses cannot agree to a consensual divorce (협의이혼), the only option is a judicial divorce (재판상 이혼). To succeed, you must prove at least one of the six legal grounds for divorce in Korea under Civil Act Article 840. Among these, extreme maltreatment divorce in Korea under Article 840(3) and (4) is both very serious and often misunderstood,...