Ending a de facto marriage:
it starts with proving you lived as a married couple

The two elements of a de facto marriage

Living together for a long time does not by itself make a de facto marriage. The Supreme Court requires both a subjective element, whether the parties intended to marry, and an objective element, whether there was a substance of shared life that, in light of social norms, can be regarded as that of a married couple within the family order (Decision 98Meu961). An engagement, which is only a promise to marry in the future, or cohabitation without any intention to marry, does not qualify.

What if the relationship ended through one party's fault after the wedding and honeymoon but before the couple moved in together? The Supreme Court held that even then, as in the case of unjust termination of a de facto marriage, compensation for emotional harm can be claimed from the party at fault (Decision 98Meu961).

Dividing property built up together

According to the Supreme Court, the system of property division (officially “division of property”) is based on the substance of a married couple's shared life, so the same principle extends to unregistered marriages (application by analogy). It also held that if debts incurred to acquire joint property during the de facto marriage were repaid after the relationship ended, those debts are, absent special circumstances, also considered in the settlement (Decision 2020Meu15841).

1. Fix the start and endFirst establish when the de facto marriage began and ended, using the day you started living together, the wedding day, and the day you separated or one partner announced the breakup.
2. List the assets and debtsList the assets and debts that grew during the relationship, and set aside property owned before the relationship and property received by inheritance or gift.
3. Contribution and method of divisionShow each partner's income, the division of housework and childcare, and the role each played in preserving separate property, and decide how to divide. See Property Division Criteria →

For a registered married couple, a property division claim can be made only until two years after the divorce (Article 839-2(3) of the Civil Act). It is hard to say with certainty that there is an established standard on whether this same deadline applies to ending a de facto marriage. The safe approach is to plan so that no more than two years pass from the day the relationship ended.

Claims you can make when ending the relationship

Because the marriage was never registered, the relationship ends without a judgment. However, the following claims arising in the settlement must be filed with the family court, and all of them go through mediation first (Articles 2 and 50 of the Family Litigation Act).

• Confirmation that the relationship existed · If the other partner insists "we were never a married couple," first ask the court to confirm that the relationship existed (a Category Na case).
• Compensation for non-economic damages for responsibility for the breakup · The claim is against the partner who left without reason and anyone who helped break up the relationship (a Category Da case). If you left because of the other partner's infidelity or violence, the separation was justified, so you would instead claim compensation from the other partner.
• Property settlement · Divide the property built up while living together (a Category Ma case).
• Children's issues · Decide who holds parental authority, who raises the child, and how child support and visitation will work.

If there are children

A child born to a de facto married couple is legally a child born out of wedlock, so a legal father-child relationship arises only after acknowledgment of paternity. Once paternity is acknowledged, the parents decide on the holder of parental authority by agreement, and if they cannot agree, the court decides on its own authority or on a party's request (Article 909(4) of the Civil Act). The custodial parent, child support, and visitation are decided under the same standards as for divorcing couples. The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence (the “Domestic Violence Punishment Act”, 가정폭력처벌법) treats a de facto marriage partner as a "spouse," so a victim protection order is also available against violence by a partner you lived with (Article 2(ii)(a) of the same Act). Domestic Violence and Victim Protection Orders →

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Guides

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