In the End, Unable to Receive Child Support... A Mother's Last Request After a 5-Year Battle

[Financial News] "Since the disclosure site closed last year, I haven't received a single penny of child support... The lawsuit is too exhausting." (A's last words)
Raising her daughter alone, A (47) had been continuing a child support lawsuit since 2016 and ultimately took her own life on the 29th of last month. Her ex-husband had not voluntarily paid child support even once since 2015. A repeatedly filed enforcement and detention orders for years, but her ex-husband persisted by repeatedly changing his address. The lawsuit documents were often not delivered, resulting in the dismissal of the case, and it took over 2 years for the enforcement order lawsuit and more than 3 years for the detention order lawsuit.
The last resort for A, who couldn't even reach the threshold of criminal complaints, was the 'Bad Fathers' site that disclosed the identities of non-payers of child support. When the site was open, her ex-husband sent a little money, but when it closed, he stopped again. After the Supreme Court's guilty verdict in January last year, the site closed, and her last hope vanished. The total unpaid child support A did not receive amounted to 80 million won. Her daughter is now only 17 years old.
According to a comprehensive report by Financial News on the 13th, the most desired by child support creditors is the 'simplification of criminal procedures for non-payers of child support' and 'strengthening of sentences'. Under the current system, if the non-custodial parent does not pay child support, an enforcement order lawsuit must be filed first, and if they persist, a detention order lawsuit must be followed before a criminal complaint can be made. However, even if a detention order ruling is issued, it takes at least another year to actually file a complaint. If the non-custodial parent delays by changing addresses or refusing to receive documents, the lawsuit can continue to drift.
Particularly in detention order lawsuits, public notification (a procedure where the court delivers documents on behalf of the other party when they cannot be found) is not recognized, making it difficult for trials to be held, and even if held, they are often dismissed. In such cases, the enforcement order lawsuit must be restarted, making it take about 5 to 7 years to reach a criminal complaint.
Goo Bon-chang, head of the People Solving Child Support, said, "The child support lawsuit period is excessively long, so many actual caregivers give up on child support," expressing concern that "since child support does not accrue interest, the non-custodial parent benefits the longer they hold out." Child support creditor B also lamented, "Being told to wait a year (after a detention ruling) is like giving the other party time to 'run away and find a way to live'," adding, "During this period, non-payers of child support hide assets or transfer them to accounts under different names to prepare for the fight."
Even if one succeeds in filing a criminal complaint after a long trial, actually receiving child support is not easy. The current 'Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support' and 'Family Litigation Act' stipulate that non-payers of child support are subject to imprisonment for up to 1 year or a fine of up to 10 million won, but the sentences are too low, and the possibility of a suspended sentence instead of actual imprisonment is high, leading to criticism that it encourages the wrong mindset of 'I'd rather endure for a few months'.
Kim Eun-jin (47), who raised two sons in middle school and elementary school alone, managed to secure the first 'actual imprisonment sentence for non-payment of child support' in the country after 4 years and 6 months of enforcement order, detention order, and criminal complaint proceedings, but she did not receive child support properly. Unable to accept the repeated suspended sentence rulings, Kim staged dozens of solo protests daily in front of the prosecutor's office and her ex-husband's house, and even shaved her head in protest in front of the National Assembly. Despite being sued for defamation by her former father-in-law and continuing a nearly 3-year legal battle, she fought to the end to have her ex-husband sentenced to 6 months in prison, but all she got in return was emptiness.
Kim said, "It seems they think it's better to serve a few months than to pay over 100 million won in unpaid child support. Weak punishment is the decisive reason for not receiving child support," adding, "The sentence should be strengthened so that they serve at least 2 years in prison to make non-payers of child support feel a sense of urgency and pressure." Previously, in July last year, National Assembly member Kim Yoon of the Health and Welfare Committee proposed a partial amendment to the Child Welfare Act to increase the sentence for non-payers of child support to 2 years, but due to a lack of social interest in the child support issue, the bill discussion remains stagnant.
Experts point out that simply strengthening sentences has its limits and that more fundamental measures are needed. Song Da-young, a professor of social welfare at Incheon National University, said, "If only the punishment for non-payers of child support is strengthened, the responsibility for child-rearing may become prevalent as 'individual responsibility'," emphasizing that "the state should play the role of mediator to alleviate conflicts and induce practical responsibility fulfillment." Suggestions were also made for the state to prepay child support, notify the workplace of habitual defaulters through subrogation rights, and seize wages.



yesji@fnnews.com Kim Yeji Reporter