Biological Mother Receiving Daughter's Survivor Benefits After 32 Years... Court Orders Husband to Pay Child Support

Jeonbuk Version of Goo Hara Case Escalates to Child Support Lawsuit
Biological Mother "Husband Blocks Contact"... Court "Difficult to Acknowledge"

Jeonju District Court
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] After the daughter of a firefighter died in the line of duty, her biological mother, who appeared after 32 years and collected 100 million won in survivor benefits, was ordered to pay a large amount of child support to the ex-husband who had raised the daughter alone.

According to the court on the 16th, the Family Division 1 of the Namwon Branch of Jeonju District Court (Judge Hong Seung-mo) recently ruled in a child support payment lawsuit filed by Mr. A, the father of the deceased firefighter, against the biological mother, Ms. B, ordering "Ms. B to pay Mr. A 77 million won."

The court explained, "The parental obligation to raise a child arises simultaneously with the child's birth, and child support is a joint responsibility," adding, "The biological mother, Ms. B, is obligated to pay child support from around the time of the divorce in 1988 until the day before the daughters reach adulthood."

The second daughter (then 32 years old) of Mr. A, who worked as an emergency rescue worker at a fire station in the Seoul metropolitan area, passed away last January by an extreme choice.

It was reported that she had suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression for five years, caused by the trauma experienced during rescue operations.

In November of the same year, the Ministry of Personnel Management held a Public Officials' Disaster Compensation Review Committee and recognized her death as in the line of duty, deciding to pay survivor benefits claimed by Mr. A.

The Government Employees Pension Service informed Ms. B, the biological mother, of this fact and delivered about 80 million won, including survivor benefits and the second daughter's retirement pay, and Ms. B also began receiving a monthly survivor pension of 910,000 won.

Upon learning this, Mr. A strongly opposed, criticizing, "Ms. B has never been involved in child-rearing after the divorce and did not even appear at the daughter's funeral."

In January, Mr. A filed a lawsuit at the Namwon Branch of Jeonju District Court demanding 189.5 million won in child support from Ms. B.

Meanwhile, this case has drawn public attention as it is referred to as the Jeonbuk version of the Goo Hara case.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.