Short answer. If both spouses agree, the floor is the statutory waiting period: three months where there is a child to be raised, one month where there is not, counted from the day you receive the family court’s divorce guidance, not from the day you file. A contested divorce has no fixed period, because it is a lawsuit. The waiting period can be shortened or waived where there is an urgent reason such as violence.
What Korean law says
Article 836-2 of the Civil Act governs divorce by agreement.
Paragraph 1: a person seeking divorce by agreement must receive the guidance on divorce provided by the family court, and the court may where necessary recommend counselling by a specialist with professional knowledge and experience.
Paragraph 2: a party who has applied to the family court for confirmation of intention to divorce may receive that confirmation only after the following period has passed from the day the guidance was received: three months where there is a child to be raised, including a child in utero, and one month in any other case.
Paragraph 3: where there is an urgent reason why the divorce must take place, such as intolerable suffering to one spouse caused by violence, the family court may shorten or waive that period.
Civil Act, Article 836-2(1), (2) and (3). Act No. 21454, in force from 17 March 2026.
What usually happens in practice
The clock starts at the guidance session, so the sequence is: application, guidance, waiting period, confirmation. Where there are minor children, an agreement on custody and parental authority has to be in place; without it the confirmation does not go through. That, rather than the waiting period, is the usual reason a couple who agreed still takes far longer than three months.
If either spouse changes their mind before confirmation, the agreed route ends and the matter becomes contested. A contested divorce runs as litigation, and its length depends on what is in dispute, grounds, children, property, not on any statutory period.
What you should do next
- Work out which route you are actually on. Agreement and judgment are different procedures with different timetables.
- If there are minor children, treat the custody and support agreement as the critical path.
- If there is violence or another urgent reason, raise it at the outset. Paragraph 3 exists for that, and it is not applied retroactively.
- If one spouse is outside Korea, or neither of you is Korean, settle jurisdiction before counting any days at all.
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Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 12 September 2026.