A divorce by agreement takes effect only after court confirmation and a report

Divorce by Agreement Matters We Handle

1. Applying for Confirmation of Intent to Divorce — Receive the court's guidance and go through the waiting periodYou apply for confirmation of the intent to divorce by agreement to the family court with jurisdiction over your place of family registration or your address. After applying, you must receive the divorce guidance provided by the court, and you may be advised to receive counseling from a professional counselor if needed.Application for confirmation of intent to divorce by agreement · Each spouse's family relationship certificate and marriage relationship certificate · Competent court: family court for the place of family registration or address · The waiting period is counted from the date guidance is received · Both spouses attend the confirmation date to confirm their intent to divorce
2. Waiting Period — 3 months if there are children to raise, 1 month if notIf there is a child to be raised (including a child in the womb), you can obtain confirmation of the intent to divorce after 3 months; if not, after 1 month. If there are urgent circumstances, such as unbearable suffering expected from violence, the court can shorten or waive the period.The period starts from the date the court's divorce guidance is received · Includes a child in the womb, not only minor children already born · Can be shortened or waived for urgent circumstances such as domestic violence · Organize the terms of agreement even during the waiting period
3. Agreement on Custody and Parental Authority — The custodial parent, child support, and visitation must be decidedIf there is a child to be raised, you must submit an agreement covering the custodial parent, sharing of child support, and how visitation will work, together with an agreement on who will have parental authority. If you cannot agree, you submit a certified copy of the family court's ruling. The child support protocol prepared by the court is an enforceable title.Designating the custodial parent and the person with parental authority · Amount, payment date, payment method, and end date of child support · Frequency and method of visitation · Securing a basis for compulsory enforcement through the child support protocol · The court may order an agreement that is against the child's welfare to be corrected
4. Agreement on Compensation for non-economic damages and Property Division — Matters not decided by the court's confirmation aloneThe court's confirmation of intent to divorce is a procedure that confirms the intent to divorce; it does not decide compensation for non-economic damages (compensation for emotional distress) or property division. The spouses must prepare a separate written agreement on these matters, and if they cannot agree, a petition for property division must be filed with the family court after the divorce.Amount, timing, and method of payment of compensation for non-economic damages and property division · For transfers of real estate, agree on the documents needed for registration · Record the agreement in a notarial deed or protocol to make it enforceable · The right to property division must be exercised within 2 years from the date of divorce · Also settle how debts will be borne and whether pensions will be divided
5. Divorce Report and Withdrawal of Intent — Report within 3 months from receiving the certified copy of the confirmationYou must file the divorce report, attaching a certified copy of the confirmation, within 3 months from the date you received it from the court or it was served on you. Once this period passes, the court's confirmation loses its effect and you must apply again from the beginning. If the intent to divorce resulted from fraud or duress, you can petition the family court to annul it.The reporting period is 3 months from receiving the certified copy of the confirmation · The confirmation loses effect once the period passes · State in the report who has been designated as the person with parental authority · A divorce resulting from fraud or duress can be annulled on petition · Check how to respond if a spouse changes their mind before the report is filed

1. Requirements and Effect of a Divorce by Agreement

Spouses may divorce by agreement (Article 834 of the Civil Act). However, an agreement to divorce does not by itself establish the divorce; it takes effect only when confirmation from the family court is obtained and it is reported under the Act on Registration of Family Relations (Article 836(1) of the Civil Act). An agreement without family court confirmation before the report has no effect as a divorce.

It is important that the intent to divorce exists both at the time of confirmation and at the time of reporting. A person who declared an intent to divorce because of fraud or duress can petition the family court to annul it (Article 838 of the Civil Act), within 3 months from learning of the fraud or escaping the duress (Articles 839 and 823 of the Civil Act).

2. Procedure and Waiting Period

A divorce by agreement generally proceeds in the following order.

A child to be raised includes a child in the womb. If there are urgent circumstances requiring divorce, such as unbearable suffering expected for one spouse from violence, the family court can shorten or waive the waiting period (Article 836-2(3) of the Civil Act). Whether to shorten or waive it is decided by the court, so evidence supporting the grounds (medical certificates, records of police reports, etc.) is needed.

The divorce report must be filed within 3 months from the date the certified copy of the confirmation is received or served, and once this period passes, the confirmation loses its effect (Article 75(2) and (3) of the Act on Registration of Family Relations).

3. What Must Be Agreed If You Have Children

If there is a child to be raised, the parties must submit an agreement on custody matters and on who will have parental authority, or a certified copy of the family court's ruling (Article 836-2(4) of the Civil Act). The agreement on custody must include who will be the custodial parent, how child support will be shared, and whether and how visitation rights will be exercised (Article 837(2) of the Civil Act).

• If the agreement is against the child's welfare, the family court orders it corrected or decides the necessary custody matters on its own authority (Article 837(3) of the Civil Act).
• If the parents cannot or do not agree, the family court decides on its own authority or on request (Articles 837(4) and 909(4) of the Civil Act).
• The court prepares a child support protocol confirming the child support terms agreed by the parties, and it is an enforceable title with the same effect as a ruling (Article 836-2(5) of the Civil Act; Article 41 of the Family Litigation Act).
• When the person with parental authority is decided, this must be reported within 1 month, and the divorce report also states who has been designated as the person with parental authority (Articles 74(iii) and 79(1) of the Act on Registration of Family Relations).

The age of majority is 19 (Article 4 of the Civil Act). When agreeing on the end date of child support, parents often decide it together with the age of majority and whether the child will go to university.

4. Compensation for non-economic damages and Property Division Must Be Decided Separately

The confirmation procedure for a divorce by agreement deals only with the intent to divorce and custody matters, and does not set the amount of compensation for non-economic damages or property division. So unless these are stated specifically in a written agreement, they will be disputed again after the divorce.

If the spouses cannot or do not agree on property division, the family court sets the amount and method of division taking into account the amount of property built up through the cooperation of both parties and other circumstances. This right expires 2 years after the date of divorce (Article 839-2(2) and (3) of the Civil Act). If there is a risk that the other spouse will move assets away, you can also seek revocation of fraudulent acts to preserve the right to property division (Article 839-3 of the Civil Act).

5. Practical Issues and When a Divorce by Agreement Does Not Fit

• Effect of the written agreement: Unless the agreement on compensation for non-economic damages and property division is recorded as an enforceable title, such as a notarial deed or mediation protocol, you will have to sue again if the other spouse does not comply.
• Changing your mind about divorce: Even if you change your mind after confirmation but before the report, the other spouse can file the report if they hold the certified copy of the confirmation, so if your intent changes before the report, check in advance how to establish this.
• If the other spouse refuses divorce or the terms cannot be agreed: You must apply to the family court for mediation or file for judicial divorce (Article 840 of the Civil Act; Article 50 of the Family Litigation Act).
• Domestic violence cases: You can apply for a waiver of the waiting period, and you can also use temporary measures in a domestic protection case (such as restraining orders) under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence (the “Domestic Violence Punishment Act”, 가정폭력처벌법) (Article 29 of that Act).
• Spouse living abroad or missing: If the other spouse's whereabouts are unknown, a divorce by agreement is impossible, and the case proceeds as a judicial divorce.

Key Court Decisions

Supreme Court en banc Decision 2013Meu568, decided September 15, 2015

In a judicial divorce, a divorce claim by the spouse responsible for the breakdown of the marriage is in principle not allowed, and is allowed by exception only where there are special circumstances in which the fault no longer weighs enough to bar the claim. One of the reasons given was that even an at-fault spouse can obtain a divorce by agreement if the other spouse agrees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Divorce & Adultery Case Results

Written on the basis of Korean statutes in force (National Law Information Center, Ministry of Government Legislation) and court precedents as of October 20, 2026. Results may differ with amendments to the law or the facts of each case. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Written and reviewed by Attorney Dongwoo Shin — Ph.D. in Law; certified criminal law specialist and certified divorce law specialist registered with the Korean Bar Association. He handles each case personally from consultation to judgment. About the attorney →
Last updated October 20, 2026