Divorce in Korea: What Foreign Residents Need to Know

Divorce in Korea triggers three separate legal clocks at the same time: one for property division, one for consolation money, and one for your visa status. Missing any of them has consequences that cannot be undone. This guide explains each route, each deadline, and each protective pathway that exists for foreign residents.

This guide provides general information, not legal advice. Every divorce situation is different. Use the help resources at the end of this guide to get advice that applies to your specific case.

The two divorce routes in Korea

Korea law gives you two ways to end a marriage.

Mutual consent divorce (협의이혼)

Both spouses must agree to divorce. Both must appear in person at the Family Court (가정법원) with jurisdiction over their registered address or actual residence. Lawyers cannot file on your behalf at this stage; each spouse must appear personally.

After your appearance, the court imposes a mandatory reflection period (숙려기간). The period is 1 month if you have no minor children. It is 3 months if any minor child exists, including an unborn child. The court can shorten or waive the period in cases of domestic violence or other urgent circumstances.

After the period ends, both spouses appear again. The court issues a divorce confirmation certificate. You must then register the divorce at the local family registry office (시구읍면사무소) within 3 months of receiving the certificate. If you miss that 3-month registration window, the certificate becomes void and the process starts over.

If you are a foreign national outside Korea, you may apply through the Korean consulate or embassy in your country of residence instead of appearing at a Korean Family Court.

Contested divorce (재판상 이혼)

One spouse petitions the Family Court for divorce on one of six statutory grounds set out in Civil Act Article 840 (as of 2026, verify at easylaw.go.kr):

1. Infidelity (부정행위): any violation of marital fidelity, broader than adultery. You must bring this claim within 6 months of learning about the infidelity, and within 2 years of when it occurred, under Civil Act Article 841.
2. Malicious abandonment (악의의 유기): willful failure to cohabit, provide financial support, or cooperate without justification.
3. Severe mistreatment by the spouse or the spouse's direct ascendants: assault, abuse, or serious insult making continued marriage unbearable.
4. Severe mistreatment of your own direct ascendants by the spouse.
5. The spouse's whereabouts or survival being unknown for 3 years or more (생사불명).
6. Any other grave circumstance making it impossible to continue the marriage: a catch-all. No time limit if the grounds persist, under Civil Act Article 842.

The petition is filed at the Family Court with jurisdiction over the respondent's address. The court attempts mediation (조정) first. If mediation fails, the case goes to trial.

A contested divorce produces a court record showing who is at fault. That record matters directly for your visa status if you are on an F-6 marriage migrant visa. See the visa section below.

Property division (재산분할)

What is subject to division

Korean law divides all assets accumulated during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title. Real estate, bank accounts, stocks, business interests, and retirement pay (퇴직금) accrued during the marriage are all marital assets (공동재산) subject to division.

Assets owned before the marriage, or received by inheritance or gift during the marriage, are in principle not divisible. These are called separate property (특유재산). One exception: if you contributed to preserving or increasing the value of the other spouse's separate property, the increase may be partially divisible.

Debts incurred for joint asset acquisition (such as a mortgage) or shared household expenses are factored into the division calculation.

The 2-year deadline

The right to file a property division claim expires 2 years from the date the divorce takes legal effect, under Civil Act Article 839-2(3) (as of 2026, verify at easylaw.go.kr).

For mutual consent divorce, the clock starts on the date the divorce is registered at the family registry office. For contested divorce, the clock starts when the court judgment becomes final.

Missing this deadline forfeits your claim permanently. There are no extensions.

How courts calculate the split

Courts weigh each spouse's contribution to building the marital assets, the length of the marriage, each party's child-rearing responsibilities, and each party's financial position going forward. Fault in the marriage does not affect property division; that is handled separately through consolation money.

Consolation money (위자료)

Consolation money is fault-based compensation for emotional and mental harm caused by the at-fault spouse. It is entirely separate from property division. You claim it against the spouse whose conduct caused the marriage to break down.

You must file a consolation money claim within 3 years of the divorce date, under Civil Act Article 766 (as of 2026, verify at easylaw.go.kr). The 3-year clock runs from when the divorce takes legal effect.

Courts have wide discretion in setting the amount. A 2024 Supreme Court ruling confirmed that the court weighs all circumstances through to the final divorce judgment. No official government source publishes a standard amount range. Any range you see on a lawyer's website comes from attorney commentary on individual cases, not from a statute or government dataset.

Child custody and parental authority

Korea's family law draws a distinction between two related concepts that can be assigned to different parents.

Parental authority (친권) covers legal rights over a child's status and property decisions. Custody (양육권) covers the right to physically raise and care for the child day to day.

One parent can hold parental authority while the other holds custody. Courts can also split these rights by type or time period.

The Family Court's primary standard in all custody decisions is the welfare of the child (자의 복리). Factors the court considers include the child's age, the degree of attachment to each parent, the current living arrangement, each parent's ability and willingness to parent, and for children aged 13 and older the child's own expressed preference.

Korean law does not distinguish between Korean and foreign parents in custody proceedings. The court applies the same child-welfare standard regardless of nationality.

Custody arrangements can be modified after the divorce if the child's welfare requires it. Either parent can file a new Family Court application for modification.

Child support (양육비)

Any divorce involving minor children requires either an agreement or a court order on child support. Courts set amounts using the Korean Family Court Child Support Standards Table (양육비 산정기준표), which weighs both parents' income, the child's age, and the number of children. The table is revised periodically; confirm the current version at scourt.go.kr.

The non-custodial parent can be ordered to pay. If they do not pay, enforcement tools are available.

Enforcement

The Child Support Agency (양육비이행관리원) is the government body that enforces child support orders. It has authority to access delinquent parents' financial information without their consent. Enforcement tools include travel bans, driver's licence suspensions, and public name disclosures of delinquent parents. In 2024, the agency's use of these tools increased substantially compared to prior years, according to reporting in the Seoul Economic Daily. A revised Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support Payment took effect July 1, 2025, expanding the agency's enforcement powers further.

Government advance payment scheme (양육비선지급제)

Korea launched an advance child support payment scheme on July 1, 2025, under a revised Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support Payment.

The scheme pays up to ₩200,000 per child per month to single parents who are not receiving the court-ordered support from the other parent. Payments continue until the child reaches adulthood and are capped at the court-ordered support amount.

As of mid-2026, an income cap of 150% of the national median household income applies. Check with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family or call 1577-1366 for the latest eligibility rules, as these may change.

Whether foreign national custodial parents are eligible for this scheme has not been confirmed in primary government sources. Check directly with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family or call the Danuri Call Center at 1577-1366 before applying.

Your visa after divorce: the F-6 pathways

If you are on an F-6 marriage migrant visa, the end of your marriage triggers a status change requirement. Your F-6-1 basis dissolves when the marriage ends. You must change status or your stay becomes irregular.

Two protected pathways exist for foreign residents. A third temporary status covers you while proceedings are ongoing.

F-6-2: raising a child of a Korean national

F-6-2 (자녀양육) is available when you have custody of or active visitation rights to a minor child born from your marriage with a Korean citizen. Status can continue until the child reaches adulthood. This pathway also provides a route toward F-5 permanent residency.

Evidence required includes the child's family registry entry and documentation of your custody arrangement or active parenting.

F-6-3: marriage ended through no fault of yours

F-6-3 (혼인단절) is available when the marriage ended because of the Korean spouse's conduct: death, disappearance, domestic violence, abandonment, or other acts for which the Korean spouse bears responsibility (귀책사유).

F-6 visas carry no employment restriction. F-6-3 holders may work freely in Korea (취업활동에 제한이 없음).

F-6-3 is renewed periodically. Confirm the current grant period and renewal requirements by calling the Immigration Contact Center at 1345 or visiting HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) directly.

To apply for F-6-3, you must demonstrate that the marriage breakdown was not your fault. Immigration commonly accepts evidence such as:

• Police incident reports documenting assault, harassment, or abandonment
• Medical records of injuries from domestic violence, including hospitalization records
• A prosecutor's decision referencing an investigation into the spouse's conduct
• Court declarations of the spouse's disappearance
• Testimony from relatives within the fourth degree of kinship, or from community leaders

Check with HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) or call 1345 to confirm the current required documents before you apply, as the list may be updated.

A contested divorce that concludes with a court finding of fault on the Korean spouse is far stronger evidence than a mutual consent divorce, which produces no fault record at all. If you are considering a mutual consent divorce but intend to stay in Korea under F-6-3, get legal advice before you sign anything.

Temporary status during legal proceedings

A short-term humanitarian stay (F-1-6) may be available during active property division or divorce proceedings. Call 1345 to confirm current eligibility and conditions before your current status lapses.

What happens if neither F-6-2 nor F-6-3 applies

If you do not qualify for F-6-2 or F-6-3, you must change to a status category that fits your situation. One alternative is the points-based long-term residency visa (F-2-7), which requires meeting a minimum points threshold across categories including age, education, Korean language ability, income, and length of residence. Contact the Immigration Contact Center at 1345 for guidance on your specific situation and current scoring criteria.

When neither spouse is Korean: which law applies

If neither spouse is a Korean national, Korean law still governs the divorce when both spouses' common habitual residence is in Korea. This rule comes from the Act on Private International Law (국제사법) Article 66, which applies the law of the spouses' common habitual residence. You file at the family court for your area.

If one spouse is a Korean national living in Korea, the Korean Civil Act governs the divorce regardless of the other spouse's nationality or home-country law.

If the nationalities, habitual residences, or legal circumstances are mixed or complex, talk to a lawyer or the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (132) before you file.

Where to get help

Divorce is one situation where you should get professional legal guidance early, not after the clock has already started running. The following resources are free and available in multiple languages.

Korea Legal Aid Corporation (대한법률구조공단)

Website: klac.or.kr. Hotline: 132 (no area code needed, inside Korea).

The Korea Legal Aid Corporation provides free legal consultation for foreign residents legally residing in Korea whose household income is at or below 125% of the standard median income (기준중위소득 125% 이하). The income threshold is updated annually by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. If you qualify, the Corporation can provide free litigation representation by its own lawyers for civil matters including divorce, property division, and child support.

Danuri Call Center (다누리콜센터 1577-1366)

Website: liveinkorea.kr. Hotline: 1577-1366 (free, 24 hours, 365 days).

Operated by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Danuri Call Center provides support in 13 languages: Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, Mongolian, Russian, Thai, Khmer, Japanese, Uzbek, Lao, Nepali, English, and Korean. Services include Korean living information, referrals to professional legal consultation, crisis support for violence victims, emergency shelter provision, and three-way interpretation.

This is the fastest resource to call if you are in immediate danger or need to find legal support in your language.

Family Court self-help

For mutual consent divorce confirmation, you can appear at the Family Court without a lawyer. The Supreme Court's foreigner proceedings portal at jifi.scourt.go.kr provides procedural guides. If neither spouse lives in Korea, Seoul Family Court (slfamily.scourt.go.kr) has default jurisdiction.

Immigration Contact Center

Hotline: 1345 (inside Korea). Available in multiple languages. For questions about F-6-3 eligibility, F-5 transition, or maintaining status during proceedings.

Key deadlines to track

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between parental authority and custody in Korea?

Parental authority (친권) covers legal decisions about a child's status and property. Custody (양육권) covers the day-to-day right to raise and care for the child. One parent can hold parental authority while the other holds physical custody. Courts can assign these to different parents based on what serves the child's welfare.

Do I lose my visa immediately when I get divorced?

No. Your F-6-1 status does not cancel the moment you divorce. You need to change status before your current status expires. Apply for F-6-2 or F-6-3 as soon as the divorce is final. Do not wait until your ARC expiry date; immigration officers allow time for the process but you must act proactively. While proceedings are ongoing, apply for a temporary stay extension.

What is mutual consent divorce and can it hurt my F-6-3 application?

Mutual consent divorce (협의이혼) is a divorce agreed by both spouses. It does not produce a court finding of fault. If you sign a mutual consent divorce under pressure from an abusive or abandoning spouse, you lose the strongest evidence for an F-6-3 application: a court ruling that the Korean spouse was at fault. If you are in this situation, call 1577-1366 before signing anything.

Can I take my child out of Korea during divorce proceedings?

Taking a child out of Korea without the other parent's consent during divorce proceedings may be treated as international parental abduction. Korea is a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. If you need to travel with your child, get the other parent's written consent or a court order allowing it. Consult a family lawyer or the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (132) before making travel plans.

Is consolation money (위자료) the same as property division?

No. They are two completely separate claims. Property division (재산분할) splits assets accumulated during the marriage. Consolation money (위자료) compensates for emotional harm caused by the at-fault spouse's conduct. Both claims run on different time limits and are calculated on different factors. You can claim both, but each must be filed separately.

What happens to the jeonse deposit if we divorce?

A jeonse (전세) deposit held in a lease registered in one spouse's name is a marital asset if it was accumulated during the marriage, regardless of whose name the contract is in. It is subject to property division. Both spouses should get legal advice before the lease expires or is renewed during divorce proceedings, as the deposit may need to be included in the property division settlement. See the F-6 visa guide for more on how your housing situation intersects with your visa status.

@misc{seoulstart-divorce-family-law-korea-guide,
  author = {{Seoulstart Editorial Team}},
  title = {{Divorce in Korea: What Foreign Residents Need to Know (2026)}},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Seoulstart},
  url = {https://seoulstart.com/guides/divorce-family-law-korea-guide},
  note = {Last updated July 17, 2026}
}