Will Criminal Punishment Follow Travel Ban and List Disclosure...First Criminal Complaint Against 'Bad Parents' for Child Support Nonpayment

Over 10 Years Without Proper Child Support Payment
Living in Gangnam and Driving a BMW Yet Claiming 'No Money' to Avoid Payment
No Criminal Punishment Cases... Attention on Whether Punishment Will Be Enforced

Attention is focused on whether criminal punishment will be enforced as a 'bad parent' who failed to pay child support without a valid reason is being reported for the first time.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jeong-wan] Parents who fail to pay child support without justifiable reasons will be reported by civic groups.

On the 19th, the Child Support Resolution Coalition (Yanghaeyeon) announced plans to file a complaint with the Suseo Police Station in Seoul against two "bad parents" who deliberately failed to pay child support for a long period, on charges of violating the Child Support Enforcement Act. This is the first criminal complaint since the related law was amended in July last year to allow criminal punishment for non-payment of child support.

First, Ms. A, who expressed her intention to punish her ex-husband, has not received about 120 million won in child support. The child's father has not properly paid child support for over 10 years and was subject to a detention order by the court in August last year. This case was also the first to receive measures such as public disclosure of personal information, travel ban, and driver's license suspension.

Mr. B, who is raising two sons, has not received any child support from the children's mother since 2018. Mr. B claims that the mother, who lives in Gangnam, Seoul, and drives a BMW, refuses to pay child support, saying she has no money. Yanghaeyeon believes that the mother has been evading child support payments by hiding her actual residence through false address registration and receiving her salary in cash to conceal assets.

According to the Child Support Enforcement Act, the court can issue a detention order to imprison parents who fail to comply with child support payment orders in police detention centers or detention facilities. Furthermore, since the amendment of the Child Support Enforcement Act in July last year, criminal punishment has become possible, including imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won if child support is not paid within one year from the date of the detention order decision.

So far, there have been measures such as public disclosure of personal information, travel bans, and driver's license suspensions due to non-payment of child support, but no cases of criminal punishment, making the outcome of this case noteworthy. According to the sanctions decided by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on 89 individuals who failed to fulfill their child support obligations as of the 12th, 25 were subject to travel bans, 11 to public disclosure, and 53 to driver's license suspension. Since the introduction of the child support debt defaulter sanction system, from October last year to June this year (1st to 5th rounds), 178 individuals have been sanctioned, including 13 public disclosures, 51 travel bans, and 114 driver's license suspensions.

Lee Young, the representative of Yanghaeyeon, said, "This complaint is the last measure against debtors who have not paid child support and the first criminal complaint case, which will set a precedent for numerous child support non-payment cases," adding, "If criminal sanctions are not properly enforced, non-payment of child support will become more widespread."

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