False Accusation During Divorce Lawsuit... Why I Had to Pay 'Double Alimony'

A court ruling has determined that if one party is found guilty in a related criminal case before the conclusion of the appeal trial in a divorce case, this must be reflected in the amount of alimony. This is considered a significant change in circumstances in the divorce case and should be regarded as a major factor in increasing the alimony amount. Since it is common for multiple criminal and civil cases between both parties to proceed alongside divorce cases, this ruling is expected to have an impact.

The Family Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Si-cheol, Judges Kim Ok-gon and Lee Dong-hyun) ruled on October 31 in a divorce and related claims lawsuit filed by Mr. A against his wife Ms. B and Mr. C, partially in favor of the plaintiff. Neither party appealed, so the ruling became final.

Divorce. Pixabay

Mr. A and Ms. B married in 1998. From the beginning of their marriage, Ms. B took charge of household duties and child-rearing and later operated a restaurant. Around 2016, while visiting their daughter studying abroad, Ms. B met Mr. C and subsequently lent him about 300 million KRW. Separately, Ms. B also gave approximately 390 million KRW to Mr. C without Mr. A’s knowledge. They traveled together to the Philippines and used the term “yeobo” (honey) for each other on KakaoTalk. Ms. B also visited the motel where Mr. C was staying.

When Mr. C failed to repay the approximately 300 million KRW he borrowed, Mr. A, together with Ms. B, filed a fraud complaint against Mr. C. During this process, Mr. A began to suspect an affair between Ms. B and Mr. C. From April 2020, Mr. A and Ms. B lived separately.

In March 2022, Mr. A filed a lawsuit against Ms. B and Mr. C for divorce, alimony payment, and property division, citing that the marriage had broken down due to their affair. In April of the same year, Ms. B filed a counterclaim against Mr. A.

During this process, Mr. A accused Ms. B of false accusation, and in May last year, a summary order imposing a fine of 3 million KRW on Ms. B was finalized. While the divorce appeal trial was ongoing in June, Ms. B was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year probation for falsely accusing Mr. A in a separate criminal case, and the ruling was finalized in July.

The appellate court ordered Ms. B to pay 40 million KRW to Mr. A, with Mr. C jointly liable for 30 million KRW of that amount. The first trial had ordered 20 million KRW in alimony, with Mr. C jointly liable for 15 million KRW, so the amount was doubled on appeal.

The court stated, “Ms. B was punished twice for false accusations against Mr. A, and in one case, it was recognized that Ms. B falsely accused Mr. A to use it as favorable evidence in this divorce lawsuit. Considering this, the alimony amount is determined.” It further explained, “Due to the affair between Ms. B and Mr. C, the marriage between Mr. A and Ms. B broke down, causing Mr. A mental damages. Therefore, Ms. B and Mr. C are obligated to pay alimony to Mr. A.”

Han Su-hyun, Legal Times Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.