Child Support Issue Resolution Group "Punish Child Abuse for 'Unpaid Child Support'"

The Child Support Resolution Group (Yanghaemo), a group of victims who have not received child support, held a press conference in front of the Seoul Western District Court on the 18th, urging the establishment of a system to resolve child support issues.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Child Support Resolution Group (Yanghaemo), a group of victims who have not received child support payments, has called for child support non-payment to be considered child abuse and punished accordingly.

On the 21st, according to Yanghaemo, the group posted a petition titled “A Petition to Amend the Child Welfare Act to Include Non-Payment of Child Support as a Prohibited Act for Child Protection” on the National Consent Petition Board, requesting that non-payment of child support be included in Article 17 (Prohibited Acts) of the Child Welfare Act.

According to Article 17, Paragraph 6 of the Child Welfare Act, “Abandoning a child under one’s protection or supervision, or neglecting basic protection, care, treatment, and education including food, clothing, and shelter” is prohibited. However, there is criticism that the law is ambiguous because “non-payment of child support” is not explicitly stated.

Yanghaemo explained, “Non-custodial parents who fail to pay child support often transfer their assets and income under others’ names to avoid compulsory execution, and engage in false residence registration or disappear to evade sanctions such as child support enforcement orders, detention, and fines. The strongest punishment, detention, becomes invalid after six months from the enforcement order, and if even a small amount of child support is paid, it is difficult to impose detention.”

On the 18th, Yanghaemo held a press conference in front of the Seoul Western District Court, urging the establishment of a system to resolve child support issues. Yanghaemo stated, “The issue of child support, which is essential for children’s survival rights, is beyond the scope of individual resolution. The state must actively step in to resolve it.” The press conference was attended by Yanghaemo members, child support non-payment victim Park In-ok, Yanghaemo representative Kang Min-seo, and Yanghaemo advisory lawyer Lee Jun-young.

The press conference was held just before the trial of Kang Min-seo, Yanghaemo’s representative. In May last year, Kang posted the personal information of Kim, the ex-husband of child support victim Park In-ok, on the group’s website. In August last year, Kim filed a defamation lawsuit against Kang.

According to victim Park, Kim left the home in 1998 when their son was six and daughter was four. Since then, Park has not received child support for 22 years after her ex-husband left, and they divorced in 2006. Kim had come to Park with their son and daughter asking for child support, but Park reported him to the police. Park lamented, “(After multiple lawsuits) I received a child support payment order and divorced, but even after about 20 years, neither I nor the children have received a single penny of that child support.”

Lawyer Lee Jun-young said on site, “Under the current system, non-payment of child support cannot be criminally punished. The National Assembly, responsible for legislation, must take action.” He continued, “As seen in overseas cases (France), criminalizing non-payment of child support is not unreasonable, and in countries like Korea where widespread non-payment occurs, it is reasonable to see a specific legislative obligation on this matter.”

Representative Kang said, “We are conducting a national petition to gain public consent and support regarding child support resolution,” adding, “We hope that the cruel act of abandoning children, who are the future hope, by failing to pay child support any longer will end.” She further stated, “The consequences of non-payment of child support threaten children’s survival, but the issue of not being able to impose criminal punishment must also be resolved.”

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