"'Runaway One Month After Marriage' Vietnamese Wife... Supreme Court: 'Marriage Annulment Not Allowed'"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled that a foreign spouse married to a Korean cannot have the marriage declared null and void solely because they ran away within a month.

On the 6th, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jaehyung) announced that it overturned the lower court's ruling in favor of Korean husband Mr. A in the appeal case seeking a declaration of nullity of marriage against his Vietnamese wife Ms. B, and remanded the case to the Changwon District Court.

Previously, Ms. B entered Korea and lived with her husband but left the home after one month, prompting Mr. A to file a lawsuit seeking a declaration of nullity of marriage. A "null and void marriage," which means the marriage was not validly established due to defects prior to the marriage, is distinguished from a "divorce," which dissolves a marriage due to reasons arising after the marriage.

During the trial, Ms. B testified that "Mr. A promised that if we married, he would provide a happy life without economic or emotional difficulties, which led me to decide to marry." In reality, after coming to Korea, Ms. B's parents and brother also lived with them, and she experienced excessive household chores and financial difficulties.

The first and second trials ruled the marriage null and void, but the Supreme Court reversed the decision. The court judged that even if Ms. B entered the country with genuine intent to marry, the marriage relationship could have been abandoned in a short period due to insufficient mutual affection and trust, language barriers, cultural maladaptation, and the gap between the expected life in Korea at the time of marriage and the actual reality.

Since Mr. A filed a divorce lawsuit as a preliminary claim along with the nullity claim, the remand trial is expected to focus on the responsibility and validity of the preliminary divorce claim.

The Supreme Court also ruled last December that a marriage cannot be easily declared null and void simply because a foreign spouse ran away shortly after marriage.

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