1. The Client’s Crisis

The client, who had been married for over 25 years while both spouses worked, decided to divorce after their child graduated from college and was preparing for property division. While reviewing insurance records and real estate ownership records, the client discovered that the spouse solely owned real estate worth about KRW 2 billion. For more than 25 years, the client had lived frugally, relying on living expenses provided by the spouse, and had no idea this property existed. However, the spouse refused to divide the property, claiming it was their own separate property, and there was even the risk that the titled spouse could dispose of it at any time, so the client urgently came to Law Firm Jeonjae.

2. Key Issues

The difficulties in this case fell largely into three categories. First, there was a real risk that the spouse would dispose of the KRW 2 billion property during the litigation. Since a divorce lawsuit can take one to two years or more, if the titled owner sells the property in the meantime, the effectiveness of property division cannot be secured. Second, because the spouse claimed that the property was their separate property, the very issue of whether it was subject to division had to be disputed. Third, the client had to specifically prove contributions to the increase in the property’s value in order to be recognized for a high contribution ratio.

3. Jeonjae’s Strategy

Attorney Yoon Ji-sang, Representative Attorney at the firm and former Presiding Judge of the Family Court, first filed for provisional seizure against the property in the spouse’s name. This was because, before property appraisal or litigation, the top priority was to prevent the spouse from disposing of the property at all.

Given a marriage period of more than 20 years, a provisional seizure application was possible at a high rate, but to obtain the provisional seizure order quickly, the logical completeness of the application was crucial. We specifically organized the client’s contributions to the increase in the property’s value and actively explained, based on legal grounds, that the property was not separate property but marital property jointly owned by the spouses.

After securing the safety of the property through provisional seizure, we proceeded to argue the contribution ratio in the divorce action in earnest, while also pursuing an amicable resolution through mediation in parallel.

4. Outcome and Recovery

The case was concluded amicably through mediation. The client was recognized as having a 1/2 contribution toward property division for the KRW 2 billion property. This was the result of discovering the spouse-owned property that the client did not even know existed, blocking its disposition through provisional seizure, and then securing a rightful share through mediation. The client was recognized for contributions made over 25 years of married life and was able to begin a new life with an economic foundation.

Attorney in Charge: Yoon Ji-sang, Representative Attorney

To protect confidentiality, this case has been partially anonymized within a scope that does not compromise the substance of the matter.