Child Support Litigation | A High Court Judgment Holding That Child Support Must Be Paid Even When Dissolution of Adoption Is Sought After Inflicting Bodily Injury on the Child

The plaintiff in this child support litigation was in a remarriage relationship with the defendant.

The defendant had adopted A, who was born between the plaintiff and the plaintiff's former spouse, through full adoption (chinyangja), and two biological children were subsequently born.

However, as the marital relationship between the two deteriorated due to differences in personality and other factors, an incident occurred in which the defendant inflicted bodily injury on A, including a nasal bone fracture requiring approximately five weeks of treatment.

In response, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the defendant seeking divorce, division of marital property, and child support, while the defendant sought dissolution of the full adoption with respect to A.

In this case, whether the defendant bore an obligation to pay child support for A became the principal issue.

The court of first instance granted the divorce claim, granted the claims for consolation money and division of marital property in part, and designated the plaintiff as the holder of parental authority and the custodian of the children.

In addition, it ruled that the plaintiff would bear the child support for A, and that the defendant would pay child support only for the other children.

The plaintiff appealed, and the High Court, which heard the second instance, held that the defendant must also pay child support for A, the fully adopted child.

The court reasoned that, even if the relationship with A had broken down, because a judgment dissolving the defendant's full adoption of A had not yet been rendered, the legal effect of the full adoptive relationship continued to subsist unless dissolution of the full adoption was recognized through a family court judgment pursuant to Article 908-5 of the Civil Act. Accordingly, it determined that the legal effects arising from the full adoption must continue to apply.

Beyond this, considering that in this case the defendant had inflicted bodily injury on A, the court held that exempting the defendant from the obligation to pay child support for A would not accord with the welfare of A, who is a minor and a victim.

The court added that, if dissolution of the adoption is later pronounced and that judgment becomes final, the defendant may be relieved of the obligation to pay child support through a separate petition to modify child support on the ground of the termination of the full adoptive relationship.

In connection with child support litigation, we have analyzed a High Court judgment holding that, where a parent inflicted bodily injury on the child during the marriage, child support must be paid even if dissolution of adoption is sought.

Child support litigation is a field that is particularly intricate even among divorce cases and in which the amount to be recognized can be difficult to predict. For this reason, professional assistance can be helpful.

The 🔗Divorce Litigation Group of Daeryun Law Firm LLP, comprising attorneys with extensive experience in child support litigation, actively assists clients with the difficulties they face.

If you need assistance with a related matter, you are welcome to visit Daeryun Law Firm LLP at any time.