A man in his 40s who habitually refused to pay child support, accumulating 11 million won ($8,000) in arrears, has been sentenced to prison. It marks the first prison sentence imposed for unpaid child support in Busan.
Judge Mok Myeong-gyun of the 17th criminal division at Busan District Court sentenced the man, identified only as "A," to four months in prison for violating the Act on Securing the Fulfillment of Child Support Payment Obligations, according to legal sources on Wednesday. However, Judge Mok did not order immediate detention, giving the defendant an opportunity to reach a settlement with the victim and repay the overdue support.
After divorcing in August 2017, A received a recommendation from the Ulsan Family Court in 2018 to pay 500,000 won per month per child until his two children reach adulthood. He failed to comply. In May 2020, the court issued an enforcement order to pay the accumulated 11 million won in monthly installments of 1 million won, but A ignored it. In August 2021, a contempt order was issued authorizing his detention in a holding cell, yet he still failed to fulfill his obligations for over a year, ultimately leading to criminal prosecution.
"There is no evidence that the defendant made any effort to pay the overdue child support from the time of the contempt order through to the trial," Judge Mok said. "Paying child support is essential to creating a safe environment for raising minor children, and the nature of the offense is serious given his failure to pay."
"Even considering that the defendant is in financial difficulty, including undergoing personal rehabilitation proceedings, a severe punishment is unavoidable," the judge added.
Prison sentences for criminal nonpayment of child support have been increasing nationwide. The first such sentence in the country came in March 2024, when the Incheon District Court sentenced a man in his 40s to three months in prison and ordered his immediate detention for failing to pay 96 million won in child support for two children over approximately 10 years since 2014. The Miryang branch of the Changwon District Court also sentenced a man in his 50s to one year in prison — the statutory maximum — for failing to pay 149 million won in child support over 15 years.
Under the current Act on Securing the Fulfillment of Child Support Payment Obligations, a person who fails to fulfill child support obligations within one year after receiving a contempt order without justifiable reason faces up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won. Legal observers say courts are increasingly turning to criminal penalties as contempt orders alone have proven ineffective in a growing number of cases.