Husband unilaterally declares 'semi-divorce,' refuses to share civil servant pension

Experts say spousal support obligations remain intact regardless of arrangement

[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

A former middle school teacher declared a "semi-divorce" from his wife of 35 years, then left for his hometown alone — refusing to share his civil servant pension or cover any living expenses — leaving her to consider filing for divorce.

The story of the woman, identified only as A, was featured Wednesday on YTN's legal advice program "Cho In-seop's Counseling Center."

A quit her job when she married and spent the next 35 years raising two children. After her husband retired from his teaching post, his behavior changed sharply. He began micromanaging household affairs, bought discounted ingredients and then complained about the taste of her cooking, and eventually capped her monthly living allowance at 500,000 won ($373) — demanding receipts for every purchase.

"After he retired, I had to prepare three meals a day, and on top of that I had to get his approval every time I spent money — it was absurd," A said. "The children had all married and moved out, so I was already dreading living with him, and then one day he suddenly brought up 'semi-divorce.'"

The husband ultimately left for a rural home he had prepared in his hometown after A refused to move there with him. As he departed, he told her, "The pension is money I earned by working my whole life — I have nothing to give you," and cut off her living expenses entirely. When word reached A that her husband had been spending time with a woman he met through a local gathering in the countryside, she began seriously considering divorce.

Kwak Dong-ju, an attorney at Shinsegae Law, said "semi-divorce" carries no legal definition. "The marriage remains legally intact, which means the mutual obligations of cohabitation, support and cooperation between spouses remain in full force," he said. Because a semi-divorce amounts to nothing more than a separation while the marriage continues, one spouse cannot unilaterally cut off living expenses on that basis — and even if both parties agreed to waive their support obligations, the validity of such an agreement could be legally questionable, he added.

Kwak said that if the husband is receiving a pension while refusing to provide living expenses, A can file a claim for spousal support with a family court. The court would determine the payment amount by weighing the husband's pension and assets against the wife's financial circumstances. "In principle, past support that was not paid can only be claimed from the date the petition is filed, so it is advantageous to act as quickly as possible," Kwak advised.

The husband's relationship with another woman during the semi-divorce could also give rise to legal liability, depending on the circumstances. If the marriage has already broken down irreparably after a prolonged separation, a relationship with a third party may not be deemed an unlawful act — but the fact of a semi-divorce alone is not enough to conclude that the marriage has collapsed.

"In A's case, the husband left unilaterally and the separation has not been long, so there is ample room for his relationship with another woman to be treated as an act of infidelity," Kwak said. "She may also want to consider seeking consolation damages from the other woman."

Should A ultimately proceed with divorce, her husband's civil servant pension could also be subject to asset division.

"The Supreme Court has held that when a spouse is already receiving a retirement pension at the time of divorce, future pension payments are also subject to asset division and can be split by allocating a set proportion each month," Kwak said. "Thirty-five years of managing the household and raising children on her own would be more than sufficient to establish her contribution."

The split-pension regime under the Civil Servants Pension Act requires that certain statutory conditions be met — including the length of the marriage, the husband's years of service and age requirements. If those conditions are satisfied, Kwak advised A to include a claim for division of future retirement pension payments as part of the divorce asset-division proceedings.


betterj@heraldcorp.com