Written by Attorney Soobin You — a former prosecutor licensed in Korea, handling family and civil matters with consultations available in English.
Quick answer: In Korea, you can sue your spouse’s affair partner for damages without filing for divorce. It is possible to hold the third party financially accountable while keeping your marriage intact. In one such case, the court awarded 20 million KRW in damages against the affair partner.
For foreigners married in Korea, discovering a spouse’s affair is devastating — and the instinct is often to either forgive silently or file for divorce. But Korean law offers a third path: holding the affair partner legally accountable while choosing to preserve the marriage. This is how one such case was resolved, from a lawyer who has guided many clients through it.
You can respond without divorcing
Some clients don’t want to jump straight to divorce. They want the affair partner’s responsibility clearly established, while protecting their family — often for the sake of children or a shared life built over years. In these cases, the key is not to escalate emotion, but to define the purpose of the action clearly. This case proceeded exactly that way: keeping the marriage intact while pursuing the third party’s liability for the affair.
A short affair does not erase responsibility
Many people assume that if the affair was brief, the damages will be small. But Korean courts do not look only at duration. They also weigh the shock the spouse suffered and the degree to which the relationship was damaged. Repeated contact, lies, and concealment can make the harm appear greater. The intensity of the harm — not just the timeline — sits at the center of the court’s judgment.
When there are minor children, the framing changes
When children are involved, their presence is not a minor detail. In a household that needs stability, showing that the affair destabilized the parenting environment becomes an important part of explaining the harm. At the same time, matters involving children should never be presented in a sensational way. Careful, restrained framing keeps the case clean and credible.
An affair case is about connection, not assertion
The decisive difference in these cases is whether the evidence connects. Submitting message logs alone is weak. What persuades is a single, coherent thread: movement patterns, timing, hotel or restaurant payment records, photos, and messages that line up together. In this case, rather than piling on evidence, we selected and bundled the material with the strongest explanatory power. The structure of the evidence — not its volume — determines how persuasive it is.
The other side’s excuses need targeted rebuttal
In these cases, the affair partner often claims they were “just an acquaintance,” “meeting for work,” or “happened to be there by chance.” The answer is not to deny everything, but to pinpoint exactly where the claim falls apart — inconsistencies in time, place, and the sequence of statements. Identifying those contradictions makes the acknowledgment of responsibility far clearer.
Resolved with 20 million KRW in damages
In a case pursued without divorce, an award of damages becomes a starting point for recovery. Here, the affair partner’s responsibility was recognized, and the matter was resolved with an award of 20 million KRW. The amount mattered — but for the client, what mattered most was that the other party’s wrongdoing had been formally confirmed. Clarifying responsibility can also help bring a sense of resolution to the family.
Suing an affair partner in Korea without divorcing: what the claim actually is
Adultery has not been a crime in Korea since the Constitutional Court struck down the offence in February 2015. What survives is a civil claim. Where a third party knowingly takes part in a spouse’s infidelity, that conduct can be treated as a civil wrong against the other spouse, and damages for emotional harm (위자료) can be claimed from the third party directly. Crucially, the claim belongs to the injured spouse and is separate from the marriage itself — you can bring it while staying married, and many people do.
There are real limits, and they decide most of these cases before the evidence is even weighed. The claim depends on the third party having known that the person they were involved with was married; and where the marriage had already broken down irretrievably before the relationship began, Korean courts have declined to allow the claim at all. That makes two questions decisive from the outset: what the third party knew, and when the marriage in fact broke down. Both are proved with documents, messages and timelines rather than testimony alone.
If you are deciding whether to bring this claim, keep the divorce question separate from it. Our family law practice covers both routes and where they intersect, and our civil litigation service covers the damages claim itself, including how it is filed and what it realistically costs to run.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I sue my spouse’s affair partner in Korea without getting divorced?
A: Yes. Under Korean law, you can bring a civil claim for damages against the third party (the affair partner) while remaining married. Pursuing this claim does not require filing for divorce.
Q: Will the damages be small if the affair was short?
A: Not necessarily. Korean courts consider the emotional shock and the extent of harm to the marriage, not just the affair’s duration. Repeated contact, lies, and concealment can increase the assessed harm.
Q: What kind of evidence matters most in an affair-damages case?
A: Connected evidence. Rather than isolated message logs, courts are persuaded by a coherent thread — meeting locations, timing, payment records, photos, and messages that align into one clear picture.
Q: Can a foreigner file this kind of claim in Korea?
A: Generally, yes. These civil claims are available regardless of nationality, though the specifics of your situation and marriage should be reviewed with a lawyer.
Q: What if the affair partner denies everything?
A: A common response. The effective approach is not to dispute every point, but to target the specific contradictions in their account — in timing, location, and the consistency of their statements.
Q: Can I sue my spouse’s affair partner in Korea without getting divorced?
A: Yes. The claim for emotional-harm damages against a third party is a civil claim belonging to the injured spouse, and it does not require you to divorce or to have filed for divorce.
Q: Is adultery a crime in Korea?
A: No. The criminal offence of adultery was struck down by the Constitutional Court in February 2015. What remains is the civil damages claim, not a prosecution.
Q: What if the marriage had already broken down before the affair?
A: That is the most common reason these claims fail. Where the marriage had already broken down irretrievably before the relationship began, Korean courts have refused the claim against the third party — so establishing when the breakdown occurred is central to both sides of the case.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case. For advice on your situation, consult a licensed attorney.
Dealing with a spouse’s affair in Korea and unsure of your options? Attorney Soobin You provides English-language legal support at every stage. Contact us via KakaoTalk or the inquiry form.
Thinking about a claim against your spouse’s affair partner?
Tell us roughly when it began, what evidence you already hold, and whether you intend to stay married. We will tell you whether a claim is realistic and what pursuing it would involve.
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