Nonpayment of Child Support | A District Court Judgment Imposing the First Actual Custodial Sentence on a Parent Who Failed to Pay Child Support After Divorce

A, who was brought to trial for nonpayment of child support, failed to pay 96 million won in child support for two children to a former spouse for about ten years following the divorce.

A subsequently received a detention order* from the family court. However, A claimed to have been in poor health, having undergone heart surgery, and to have faced economic hardship, and the only payment made was a single payment of 5 million won in child support before the detention hearing.

B, who raised the two children for ten years without A's child support by running a street food stall and working at a factory, filed a lawsuit to enforce the payment of child support.

The “Act on Enforcement and Support of Child Support Payment (hereinafter the Child Support Enforcement Act)” was later amended. Under the amended Act, a person who fails to perform a child support obligation for one year without justifiable grounds may be subject to imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won.

*Detention order: a court decision confining a person in a detention facility or the like for a certain period

As to the parent who failed to pay child support, the court of first instance imposed a sentence of three months' imprisonment.

This was the first actual custodial sentence among the cases prosecuted on charges of nonpayment of child support in the three years since the Child Support Enforcement Act took effect.

A was subsequently sentenced on appeal to six months' imprisonment, a heavier sentence than that of the lower court, and filed a final appeal. However, A ultimately withdrew the final appeal, and as a result, an actual custodial sentence of six months became final.

With regard to nonpayment of child support, courts have recently tended to impose actual custodial sentences on parents who habitually fail to pay child support.

Over the past five months, seven out of ten defendants prosecuted on charges of violating the Child Support Enforcement Act received actual custodial sentences.

A legal professional commented, “Courts are increasingly treating the emotional and physical suffering that the custodial parent and the children experience due to the nonpayment of child support as significant,” while also noting, “Because the process of reaching trial is so difficult, there is a need to improve the system so that unpaid child support can be paid in advance by a government agency.”

The following explains the methods available for addressing nonpayment of child support without going to trial.

This article has analyzed a district court judgment that imposed the first actual custodial sentence on a parent who failed to pay child support, and has explained measures available for responding without litigation.

If you are preparing a lawsuit concerning nonpayment of child support, you must prove that there was a prior agreement to pay child support at the time of the divorce. In addition, the child support to be claimed must be reasonably calculated by comprehensively considering factors such as the children's ages and the incomes of both yourself and the other party, so the process can be complex.

The 🔗Divorce Litigation Group of Daeryun Law Firm LLP, composed of attorneys experienced in family matters, provides active assistance to clients preparing litigation related to nonpayment of child support. If you need assistance, you are welcome to request a legal consultation with Daeryun.