As concerns arise that the amount of alimony recognized by the courts is excessively low, judges have gathered to discuss the need to actualize divorce alimony in cases of marital breakdown due to infidelity, drawing significant attention from the legal community. It is being closely watched whether the alimony amount in divorce cases, which has remained unrealized for over 30 years and stayed below 30 million won, can be increased through this discussion. The Compensation Litigation Community (Chairman Park Hyung-soon) held a seminar on the actualization of alimony at the Seoul Northern District Court in Dobong-gu, Seoul, on the 9th.
Calls to Increase Amounts in Cases of Marital Breakdown Due to Infidelity
According to alimony sentencing precedents at the Seoul Family Court, the alimony amount has been frozen at around 23 million won for about 20 years from 1991 to 2014. It decreased from 23 million won in 1991 to 19 million won in 2010, then was recorded at 24 million won in 2014. Although the value of marital joint property increased and the amounts claimed and recognized for property division also grew, the alimony amount has not significantly changed since 1991. Currently, the alimony amount recommended in practice remains at a similar level to 10 years ago, around 20 to 30 million won on average.
The current standard alimony amount by type of tort is based on the 100 million won alimony for traffic accident death victims, announced in January 2015 by the Traffic and Industrial Accident Practice Research Group of the Seoul Central District Court, as a typical upper limit. Because of this, the alimony amount in divorce cases has been claimed at much lower amounts and even lower amounts have been recognized. Although 'unfaithful acts' have been acknowledged as a significant reason compared to other grounds for divorce, the alimony amount has been treated similarly to other reasons.
However, recently, voices have been growing that alimony amounts should be increased in divorces caused by infidelity.
In May, an appellate court ruling recognized the highest alimony amount ever, ordering SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay 2 billion won in alimony to Noh So-young, director of the Art Center Nabi, with whom he is undergoing divorce litigation, sparking debate over whether the amount was appropriate. Last month, the Seoul Family Court ruling ordering Chairman Chey and his cohabitant Kim Hee-young to pay 2 billion won in alimony to Director Noh was upheld, intensifying momentum for the actualization of alimony.
Earlier, in June last year, the Family Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Si-chul) ruled in an appeal lawsuit for damages caused by divorce filed by A against B, stating, “If a spouse’s rights have been significantly infringed through prolonged acts of betrayal, compensation for mental damages caused by such fault during that period is necessary,” ordering B to pay A 200 million won in alimony.
"Non-pecuniary Damages Must Also Be Considered"
Lee Sun-mi (46, Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 34), a judge at the Daejeon High Court, presented on “Improvement Measures for Divorce Alimony Trials (Focusing on Cases of Marital Breakdown Due to Infidelity)” at the Compensation Litigation Community seminar held on the 9th. She argued, “If alimony in cases of infidelity is particularly problematic compared to other grounds for divorce, the current practice of recognizing low alimony amounts should be improved.”
She added, “Currently, case law has formed around paying somewhat calculated alimony for infidelity, so it can be said that the special nature of alimony due to infidelity is already considered in judicial practice,” but noted, “The question is whether that consideration is sufficient.”
Judge Lee emphasized that when claiming alimony due to marital breakdown caused by infidelity, the amount should be reviewed not only in terms of the mental damages suffered by the spouse but also from the perspective of non-pecuniary damages. She pointed out, “Alimony compensates for all non-pecuniary damages, including mental damages,” and “It is not only for mental suffering.”
She further explained, “The damages caused to the spouse by the breakdown of marriage due to infidelity include ‘the loss of the opportunity to enjoy married life,’” and “This may include the loss of social and economic status maintained through married life.” She added, “Some of these may be considered pecuniary damages rather than non-pecuniary damages, but it is extremely difficult or impossible to calculate and prove them by ordinary methods,” and “It is reasonable to regard such damages as non-pecuniary damages that cannot be calculated as a whole.”
Han Soo-hyun, Legal Newspaper Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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