A couple separated. Photo pixar bay
On the 8th, the Korean Family Legal Consultation Office announced on the 8th that it had conducted a total of 4139 divorce consultations last year, including 3260 women (76.9%) and 979 men (23.1%).
In the case of women, 48.3% of the reasons for divorce were’unfair treatment of husbands such as violence’. There were other reasons (31.4%) such as long-term separation, personality difference, and economic conflict, and the third most common reason for divorce was the husband’s affair (8.3%).
Reasons for divorce by gender. Source Korea Family Law Counseling Center
The most common reasons for divorce of men were long-term separation, personality differences, economic conflict, and other reasons at 56.5%. This was followed by reasons such as the wife’s runaway (23.0%) and the wife’s unfair treatment (13.3%), such as violence.
Divorce counseling was the most common among women in their 40s, accounting for 32.0% of the total. This was followed by those in their 50s (25.4%), over 60s (22.3%), in their 30s (15.7%), and in their 20s (4.6%). There are also a lot of counseling for divorce for the elderly. A 91-year-old wife who decided to divorce said, “My 94-year-old husband has been cheating for life and is currently cheating with a woman who is the same age as her daughter.” He confessed, “When the kids were young, I was beaten by my husband, who was cheating, so I went to a counseling center.”
Males over their 60s accounted for the most at 43.5%. They were in their 50s (28.5%), in their 40s (19.7%), in their 30s (7.5%), and in their 20s (0.8%).
Divorce counseling rate by year. Source Korea Family Law Counseling Center
‘Economic crisis in the aftermath of Corona 19’ also appeared as a reason for divorce
Last year, as a new case of divorce counseling, an economic conflict due to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) appeared. It was a consultation that 7.6% of women and 4.2% of men suffered economic crises such as unemployment and business closure due to Corona 19, and this situation intact led to family discord.
Men also complained that the wife’s attitude of putting all of the poor family economy to the responsibility of her husband was the most unbearable.
Women complained of the grievance that their resentment against incompetent husbands grew even more when they were threatened with livelihoods because they could not even find jobs such as simple labor after their career was cut off.
Last year, parental and custody counseling increased from 1.5% of the previous year to 1.7% last year, and child support counseling increased from 3.2% to 4.5%.
Reporter Han Young-hye [email protected]
