Claim that the marriage had already failed rejected; ₩30 million awarded against the third party

Background

Our client had been legally married for more than 20 years. The client then learned that the other party, knowing that the client's spouse was married, had carried on an affair with the spouse for about a year and a half. The client sued the other party for damages for the emotional distress this caused.

The issue

A person who has an affair with a married individual can be liable for infringing the couple's shared marital life, but liability may not arise if the marriage had already irretrievably broken down at the time. The other party argued that the couple had lived apart for ten years and that the marriage had already failed, and also argued that the claim itself was an abuse of rights (exercising a right beyond its legitimate scope), pointing to how the client had reacted after the affair came to light. The issues were whether the marriage had broken down, whether the claim was an abuse of rights, and the amount of damages.

Our approach

We submitted evidence of the marriage and of the affair and argued that the other party had continued the relationship while knowing of the marriage, infringing the couple's shared life. On that basis we claimed ₩100 million in damages. Against the claim that the marriage had already failed, we maintained that there was no basis for it.

The court's reasoning

The court found that the other party had engaged in the affair knowing the spouse was married, and that this was a tort that disrupted the couple's shared life and infringed the client's rights as a spouse. It rejected the claim that the marriage had already broken down, finding the other party's evidence insufficient. It also held that the circumstances raised did not make the claim an abuse of rights. The court set the damages by weighing the length of the marriage and the family situation, how the affair began, how long it lasted and its extent, and its impact on the marriage.

Outcome

The court ordered the other party to pay the client ₩30 million in damages, plus late-payment interest from the date the affair ended. The remainder of the claim was dismissed. The other party was ordered to bear 70% of the litigation costs and the client 30%, and the judgment was made provisionally enforceable before it becomes final.

What this case means

A third party in an affair often tries to avoid liability by claiming the marriage had already broken down. Courts do not accept that claim without sufficient evidence. Careful preparation of evidence showing the marriage and the duration and extent of the affair matters in having damages recognized.

This is the outcome of an individual case and does not guarantee the same result in similar matters. Some facts have been generalized to protect the parties involved.