How is property divided in a Korean divorce?

What Korean law says

Article 839-2(1): a person who has divorced by agreement may claim division of property against the other party.

Article 839-2(2): where there is no agreement on that division, or agreement is impossible, the family court determines the amount and method of division on the application of a party, taking into consideration the amount of the property built up through the cooperation of both parties and other circumstances.

Article 839-2(3): the right to claim division of property extinguishes when two years have passed from the day of the divorce.

Article 843 applies Article 839-2 to divorce by judgment, along with Article 806 for damages, Article 837 for the responsibility to raise children and Article 837-2 for visitation.

Civil Act, Articles 839-2 and 843. Act No. 21454, in force from 17 March 2026.

What usually happens in practice

The operative phrase is property built up through the cooperation of both parties. Contribution is not limited to earnings: homemaking and child-rearing are recognised contributions, which is why a spouse with no income is not starting from zero. What the court is measuring is contribution to the formation and maintenance of the property, alongside other circumstances such as the length of the marriage and the needs of each party after it.

Property division is also separate from damages for the breakdown itself. They are different claims with different bases, and treating a single number as covering both is a common and expensive confusion.

For international couples the practical difficulty is usually proof and reach: assets held abroad, transfers made before separation, and accounts in one name only. Those are evidence problems, not doctrinal ones, and they are solved early or not at all.

The two-year limit in paragraph 3 runs from the divorce, not from the discovery of an asset. It is the single most common way a valid claim is lost.

What you should do next

• Diarise the two-year deadline the day the divorce takes effect.
• Document your contribution, including non-financial contribution, rather than assuming it is understood.
• Identify assets and transfers early, especially anything moved shortly before separation.
• Keep division and damages separate when you negotiate. They are separate claims.

Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 12 September 2026.