Attorney Noh Jong-eon | Hankyung Law & Biz Law Street Column

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* This post has been significantly abridged to protect the intellectual property rights of The Korea Economic Daily. The full text can be found at the attached link.

The Divorce Landscape Changed by the Upward Marriage Craze

Attorney Noh Jong-eon discusses in his column the Korean society's aspiration for upward marriage and the realities of the divorce process. The statistics that the frequency of income homogamy ranks 33rd out of 34 major advanced countries (Bank of Korea), and that per-capita luxury goods spending ranks No. 1 in the world (as of 2022, Morgan Stanley), show the unique culture of Korean society. In this culture, the most common thing that happens during divorce proceedings is that when one spouse leaves the home, they take all the high-value items such as luxury watches, luxury bags, gold bars, expensive artworks, ceramics, and bearer bonds.

"Even if you take it and deny it, it was excluded from property division"

According to Attorney Noh Jong-eon's column, if a high-value item is taken in advance and the person denies having taken it, that property has been excluded from the property division. Also, until now, because of the family-relative immunity provision, a spouse's theft was not punishable even during divorce litigation. Fortunately, the family-relative immunity provision was ruled incompatible with the Constitution and its application has been suspended, making theft during divorce litigation subject to criminal punishment; however, despite the legal changes, property theft before and after divorce proceedings is still occurring frequently.

Even CCTV Footage Is Not Enough to Prove It

Attorney Noh Jong-eon explains the difficulty of proof by citing a case he actually experienced. In an inheritance lawsuit, after the father passed away, the eldest son took all the U.S. dollars that were in the safe. Although CCTV confirmed that he opened the safe and took something out, he could not prove it because it could not be confirmed whether the item was dollars or how much was there. Even in the case of luxury handbags or watches, unless they are limited editions that are extremely rare among domestic owners, it is practically impossible to identify the current possessor.

Practical Alternatives for Protecting Assets

Attorney Noh Jong-eon concludes his column as follows. To prevent these problems, it may be safer to use an off-site rented safe-deposit box rather than a home safe. In the case of high-value items, if a family member takes them during divorce or inheritance proceedings, it is realistically very difficult to receive legal protection. Trust and goodwill among family members are important values, but it is necessary to face reality: crimes involving assets can occur even more secretly and without guilt because of the special nature of family ties, and appropriate measures to protect assets should be put in place.

"Family Unboxing" is a regular series in Hankyung Law & Biz Law Street of The Korea Economic Daily. Attorneys Yoon Ji-sang and Noh Jong-eon of Law Firm Jonjae take turns explaining key issues in the areas of divorce and inheritance based on their practical experience.