Divorce notification in Korea based on a divorce judgment received from a foreign country

In principle, in order to enforce a foreign judgment in Korea, you must go through the foreign judgment approval process, as stipulated in Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act, the details of which are as follows.

Article 217 (Approval of Foreign Trial) ① A final judgment of a foreign court or a trial of which the same effect is recognized (hereinafter referred to as “final judgment, etc.”) is approved only when all of the following requirements are met.

1. The international jurisdiction of the foreign court shall be recognized in accordance with the principles of international jurisdiction under the laws or treaties of the Republic of Korea.

2. A lawsuit may be filed even if the losing defendant has been served with the complaint or equivalent written text, date notice or order in a legal manner with enough time for defense (excluding cases by public notice or similar service) or has not been served. must have responded to

3. In light of the contents of the final judgment, etc. and the litigation procedures, approval of the final judgment, etc. shall not be contrary to the good morals or other social order of the Republic of Korea.

4. There is mutual guarantee or the requirements for approval of a final judgment, etc. in the country to which the Republic of Korea and the foreign court belong are not significantly unbalanced and there is no substantive difference in important respects.

To report a divorce based on a foreign judgment, an original copy of the divorce judgment or a certified copy and translation, as well as a certificate of final judgment and a translation are required, and the translation must be notarized.
Therefore, in the case of a divorce judgment received in a foreign country, if the foreign judgment meets the requirements set forth in Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act, a divorce can be reported without receiving a separate execution judgment [Guidelines for processing family relationship registration affairs based on divorce judgments of foreign courts ( Family Relationship Registration Regulations No. 419)].

(Guidelines for processing family relationship registration affairs based on divorce judgment from a foreign court)

1. A divorce judgment by a foreign court is effective in Korea as long as it satisfies the conditions stipulated in Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act.

2. The report of divorce by foreign judgment in paragraph 1 shall follow the procedures in accordance with Articles 78 and 58 of the Act on Registration of Family Relationships, as with the report of divorce by Korean judgment, but the report must include the original copy of the judgment or A certified copy, a certificate of final judgment, and the defendant who lost the lawsuit was served with the complaint or equivalent written notice and date notice or order in a legal manner with sufficient time for defense (excluding cases where service was made by public notice or similar service) Even if you have not been served, you must attach a written response to the lawsuit (limited to cases where this point is not clear from the original or certified copy of the judgment) and translations of each of the above documents. However, if a divorce certificate is issued in place of the original or certified copy of a foreign (e.g. Australian) court and the final certificate, the certificate may be attached.

3. When a divorce report pursuant to paragraph 2 is submitted, the family relationship registration official shall determine whether the foreign judgment satisfies each condition stipulated in Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act based on the original or certified copy of the judgment attached to the divorce report. It is necessary to determine whether or not to accept the request after reviewing whether or not the conditions are met. If it is not clear whether the conditions are met or if any of the following applies, make sure to attach all relevant documents and inquire with the supervisory court and receive the response for processing. shall. go. When it is unclear whether the foreign judgment will be confirmed. me. When it is unclear whether delivery is legal. all. If the defendant does not reside in the foreign country at the time the foreign court's judgment proceedings are carried out. la. In other cases, the validity of a foreign judgment is questionable.

4. In the following cases, notwithstanding subparagraph 3, an inquiry to the supervisory court is not required: go. When a Korean citizen who is a defendant in a foreign judgment agrees to the divorce report based on the foreign judgment or reports the divorce on his/her own. me. In case of receiving an execution judgment pursuant to Articles 26 and 27 of the Civil Execution Act regarding the divorce judgment of a foreign court.

This is a procedure in accordance with Korean law. For foreigners, detailed procedures may vary.
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