Short answer. You do not win by default. Article 12 of the Family Litigation Act switches off the Civil Procedure Act provisions on deemed admission and on admission of a claim for Type A and Type B cases, and a judicial divorce is a Type B case. Your spouse silence is not an admission, and the court still has to be satisfied that a statutory ground exists.
Why silence is not agreement here
In an ordinary civil case, a defendant who does not respond can be treated as having admitted the claim. Family litigation is deliberately different, because the status of a marriage is not something the parties can dispose of by agreement.
Article 12 applies the Civil Procedure Act to family litigation but excludes, for Type A and Type B cases, Article 147(2), Article 149, Article 150(1), Article 284(1), Article 285, Article 349, Article 350 and Article 410, along with the parts of Article 220 dealing with admission of a claim and the parts of Article 288 dealing with admission. Article 150(1) is the deemed admission rule.
The practical consequence is simple: you still have to prove the ground for divorce, with evidence, whether or not the other side turns up.
Family Litigation Act, Articles 7 and 12. Act No. 20432, in force from 1 January 2026.
What the court does about the absence
Article 7 requires the party in person, or a legal representative, to attend a hearing date they were summoned to. The court can repeat the summons, and where the spouse is deliberately avoiding service the case usually moves to service by public notice.
An absent spouse also loses the chance to contest the financial claims, which is where their absence actually costs them. The divorce itself still has to be proved.
What this changes about your evidence
Because you cannot rely on the absence, the case is decided on what you file. Messages, photographs, bank records, statements from people who saw the relevant events. If the ground you are relying on is a matter of conduct, it has to be shown rather than asserted.
What to do
- Prepare the case as if it were contested, because in evidential terms it is.
- Keep a record of every failed attempt to serve or summon. It supports the next procedural step.
- Do not assume an uncontested divorce is faster. Service by public notice adds months.
- Ask the court for a pre-disposition order if the absence is being used to move assets.
Related
How are divorce papers served on a spouse outside Korea?
Can I get temporary orders while a Korean divorce is running?
Does Korea have no-fault divorce?
What if my spouse hides assets before a Korean divorce?
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Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 12 September 2026.
Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 13 September 2026.