"No Law to Enforce Child Support Payment, Violation of Basic Rights"…Constitutional Court Ruling Today

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court will deliver a ruling today on whether it is unconstitutional for the state not to enact laws that guarantee the right to receive child support and provide remedies when such support is not received.

On the 23rd, the Constitutional Court will announce its decision on a constitutional complaint filed by Mr. A and others, who claim that the state's failure to enact laws related to child support payments infringes on their right to livelihood and property rights.

Mr. A and others filed the constitutional complaint in February 2019. They are parents raising children after divorce and have the right to receive child support from the other party. However, they argue that there are no effective remedies when the other party does not pay or only partially pays child support.

Lee Jun-young, CEO and lead attorney of KNK representing Mr. A and others, stated, "The state's implementation of a child support advance payment system is necessary to eliminate conflicts between custodial and non-custodial parents and to prevent children from suffering emotional harm caused by parental conflicts."

However, some in the legal community argue that the "Revised Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support Enforcement," which guarantees child support payments, has been in effect since July. According to this law, if the other party fails to pay child support, they may receive a detention order, and if non-payment continues, measures such as driver's license suspension, travel bans, and public disclosure of names can be enforced.

Regarding this, Attorney Lee said, "The revision does not offer a fundamental solution but only amends some superficial laws. Rather, it leaves parts that exacerbate conflicts between parties, which could ultimately cause ongoing harm to the children."

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