De Facto Marriage Recognized After Consensual Divorce and Reunion: 1.54 Billion Won Property Settlement and Shares Secured

Taeshin Law Firm represented a client who had divorced by agreement, then reunited with the spouse and lived together without registering the marriage for more than ten years before the relationship broke down because of the spouse's infidelity. The client claimed consolation money and property division. The spouse denied that the relationship amounted to a de facto marriage and argued that certain real estate and unlisted shares were separate property acquired through personal investment. The court recognized the de facto marriage, held the spouse responsible for the breakdown, and included the disputed assets in the divisible estate. On appeal the client's division share was adjusted from 40% to 30%, but the treatment of the separate property was upheld; the client ultimately secured part of the unlisted shares, a settlement payment of 1,549,000,000 won, and 10 million won in consolation money.

Background / Issue

The client and the spouse had divorced by agreement. About two years later, they reunited and lived together without registering the marriage, raising their children together. They lived that way for more than ten years, until the relationship broke down because of the spouse's infidelity.

The client claimed consolation money for the breakdown of the de facto marriage and a division of property. Most of the assets were real estate and unlisted shares held in the spouse's name.

The spouse denied that a de facto marriage existed, arguing that the parties had lived together only in order to raise the children and had never intended to live as husband and wife. The spouse further argued that some of the real estate and shares had been acquired with money earned through personal stock investment and were therefore separate property that should not be divided.

The case turned on two legal issues. First, whether a de facto marriage can be recognized — and property division claimed — even where there is no marriage registration, and in particular whether the period after the consensual divorce qualified as a de facto marriage. Under Korean law, parties who intended to live as husband and wife and actually did so may be treated as a de facto marriage, and the property accumulated together is subject to division when that relationship ends. Second, whether assets separately acquired by one party (separate property) can be brought into the divisible estate where the other party preserved them from decreasing or contributed to increasing them, as stated in Supreme Court Decision 2002스36 dated August 28, 2002. Whether the client's role in managing the household and raising the children counted as such a contribution was central to the dispute.

Our Legal Approach

Taeshin Law Firm established that the life the parties shared after their reunion was not mere cohabitation for the purpose of raising the children, but a genuine marital life, and showed that the relationship had broken down because of the spouse's infidelity.

The legal team organized the real estate and unlisted shares that were held in the spouse's name, and specifically argued that the client had contributed to preserving those assets through household management and child-rearing. To protect the funds the client would later recover, the team obtained a provisional attachment over real estate held in the spouse's name.

After the first-instance judgment, the spouse appealed, but the appellate court upheld the findings on the de facto marriage, the spouse's responsibility, and the inclusion of the spouse's separate property in the assets to be divided.

Result / Outcome

The first-instance court (January 2022) recognized the de facto marriage and found that the relationship had broken down because of the spouse's infidelity, awarding 10 million won in consolation money. It set the client's property division share at 40% and ordered, together with a division of the shares, payment of a settlement of 1,868,000,000 won.

The appellate court (August 2023) revised only the property division, lowering the client's share to 30%, but left intact the finding that the real estate and shares the spouse had claimed as separate property were part of the assets to be divided. As a result, the client received part of the unlisted shares and a settlement payment of 1,549,000,000 won. The spouse's remaining appeal was dismissed.

After the appellate ruling, the client obtained a seizure and collection order over the deposit the spouse had placed with the court in order to release the provisional attachment, and proceeded to collect the amount in practice.

Why This Case Mattered: This case illustrates how Korean courts approach de facto marriage and separate property. Even without a marriage registration, parties who intended to live as husband and wife and did so may claim property division when the relationship ends, including in some circumstances assets held in the other party's name. It also shows that one party's separate property may be brought into the divisible estate where the other party contributed to preserving or increasing it — while the court may still adjust the division ratio between instances.

Results depend on the specific facts and circumstances of each case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.