National Court Administration, Family Register Office for Overseas Koreans

  • KOREAN
background

Report of Divorce

Divorce by Agreement (between Koreans)

  1. Procedure for reporting a divorce by agreement

    A divorce becomes effective and valid when a report of divorce signed or sealed by both parties is filed with the head of the relevant overseas Korean diplomatic mission or any equivalent authority, along with a certified copy of the written confirmation issued by the Family Court in South Korea.
    Suppose a Korean couple divorced by agreement in a foreign country according to the foreign country’s practice. If the couple’s divorce was duly concluded on or before September 19, 2004, the couple may file a report of divorce. However, the couple may not report the divorce if it was concluded after the aforementioned date. A Korean couple’s divorce by agreement according to the practice of a foreign country after September 19, 2004, is not recognized.

  2. The procedure for confirming the intention to divorce by agreement at an overseas Korean diplomatic mission

    If either party of a couple is an overseas Korean national, the Korean may file an application for the confirmation of the intention to divorce by agreement with the head of the overseas Korean diplomatic mission with jurisdiction over their place of residence.
    If no overseas Korean diplomatic mission has jurisdiction over the area, the Korean may file the application with the head of the overseas diplomatic mission with jurisdiction over an adjacent area.
    “Overseas Korean national” in this context means only a Korean national registered under Article 3 of the “Overseas Korean Registration Act”.

    1. Documents to be submitted while applying for the confirmation of the intention to divorce by agreement

      1. A written application for the confirmation of the intention to divorce by agreement

      2. A family relation certificate and a marital relation certificate of the husband

      3. A family relation certificate and a marital relation certificate of the wife

        Documents may be issued through the certified electronic mail system at an overseas Korean diplomatic mission.

      4. For a couple with a minor child (including an unborn), a written agreement regarding the decision on child support and custody after receiving written information on divorce or a certified copy of a judgement and a certificate of confirmation issued by the Family Court (if the Family Court rendered such a judgement)

        If the parties to the divorce have prepared an agreement on child support for the period from the day after the divorce report to the day before the minor child reaches the age of majority, a child support order is established so that the competent judicial authority may enforce the agreement without any additional judicial proceeding.
        The parties should thus be prudent and careful in agreeing on child support.

      5. If either party of a couple is in another foreign country or detained in a correctional facility (or a detention facility)

        A certified copy of the overseas Korean register (issued by an overseas Korean diplomatic mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or a certificate of custody (issued by a correctional facility or detention facility) shall be attached.

    2. The overseas Korean diplomatic mission to which an application shall be submitted

      Both parties who intend to divorce shall make an appearance before the overseas Korean diplomatic mission with jurisdiction over their place of residence and submit the application together.

      Only if either party of the couple is in another foreign country or is detained in a correctional facility (or a detention facility) may the other party appear alone before the overseas Korean diplomatic mission and submit the application. They shall follow instructions from the diplomatic mission.

    3. Information on divorce

      The head of an overseas Korean diplomatic mission may provide information in writing.

    4. Confirmation of the intention to divorce by agreement

      Both parties shall make an appearance before the overseas Korean diplomatic mission with jurisdiction over their place of residence with their identification cards (the resident registration certificate, driver’s license, public official identification card, or passport of each party) and seals(signature also allowed).
      If either party resides in another country, the applicant may appear alone.
      If either party is in the Republic of Korea but resides in a domicile outside the jurisdiction of the Seoul Family Court, the party residing in the Republic of Korea may submit an application to the Seoul Family Court along with a certified transcript (abstract) of his or her resident registration to have his or her intention to divorce confirmed by the court with jurisdiction over the domicile.
      For children’s welfare, the court may order the parties to amend their agreement on child support and determination of the parent with parental authority.
      If the parties do not comply with such an order, their intention to divorce will be disconfirmed.
      If their intention is disconfirmed, either party may file a lawsuit for judicial divorce or designation of the party who will have the parental authority, etc., subsequently with the Family Court.

  3. Report of divorce by agreement

    A certified copy of a written confirmation of the intention to divorce becomes invalid three months after the date of delivery; therefore, either or both parties shall submit a report of divorce along with the certified copy of the confirmation within the aforementioned period if either or both parties still have the intention to report the divorce. If no divorce report has been filed, the divorce is not concluded. Once the aforementioned period ends, the couple may not file a report of divorce unless it obtains confirmation of their intention to divorce from the court again. If the couple has a minor child, a report on the designation of the party who will have parental authority shall be submitted along with a certified copy of the agreement, or the authentic copy of the judgement and the certificate of the finality of the judgement, at the time of filing the report of divorce. In the case of an unborn child, the report on the designation of parental authority shall be filed along with the authentic copy of the judgement and the certificate of the finality of the judgement at the time of filing the report of the birth of the child, and not at the time of filing the report of divorce. If three months have not elapsed since the date of issuance of a certified copy of the written confirmation, either party may have another copy of the confirmation issued by the court where the application for the confirmation of the intention to divorce was submitted.

  4. Revocation of intention to divorce by agreement

    If a couple has no intention to divorce, although the intention has already been confirmed, the couple may submit a written statement of revocation of the intention to divorce to the overseas Korean diplomatic mission abroad where the application for confirmation of intention to divorce by agreement was submitted, or to the head of the Si (Gu)/Eup/Myeon with jurisdiction over the place of registration or current address. A divorce remains valid, irrespective of submitting a statement of revocation, if the divorce report is filed before the statement of revocation of the intention to divorce is submitted.