My child's Korean father denies the child. What can I do?

Bring an acknowledgment claim (인지청구의 소) in the family court. A child born outside marriage, the child's descendants, or the child's legal representative, which normally means you as the mother, can sue the father to have fatherhood established. Scientific testing is what usually settles it, and the father cannot block the case simply by refusing to talk to you. Once acknowledgment is recorded it takes effect back to the day the child was born, and from that point the duties of raising the child, including support, can be decided. What acknowledgment does to the child's nationality and to the child's right to stay is a separate question that has to be checked, not something that follows automatically.

Can the father acknowledge the child without a court case?

Yes, and it is quicker. A father of a child born outside marriage may acknowledge the child, and the acknowledgment takes legal effect when it is reported under the family registration law. If the parents later marry, the child is treated as born within marriage from that time.

Who can sue, and what if the father has died?

The claim is brought by the child, the child's descendants, or their legal representative, against the father or the mother. You file as the child's legal representative, with the child as claimant. If the father has already died, the claim is brought against the public prosecutor (검사) within 2 years from the day you learned of the death, and that short period is the first thing to check.

Which court hears it, and whose law applies?

Korean courts have jurisdiction over the establishment of parentage where the child's habitual residence is in Korea, or where the child and the parent being sued include a Korean national. A case against a Korean father therefore belongs in Korea even if you and the child live elsewhere.

On the applicable law, the starting point is the law of the mother's nationality at the child's birth. For the relationship between father and child, the law of the father's nationality at the birth or the law of the child's current habitual residence may be applied instead, and for acknowledgment the law of the acknowledging person's nationality at the time of acknowledgment is also available. Where the child's own national law requires the consent of the child or a third person, that requirement has to be met as well. More than one law may therefore be open, and which one is argued can change the result.

What evidence decides the case?

Evidence	What it is for
A test of genetic material from the child and the father	The main proof of the biological link
Hospital and antenatal records naming him, messages about the pregnancy	Shows the relationship and his knowledge
Photographs, travel records, a shared address, transfers of money	Supports the period you say you were together
People who knew you both	Fills gaps where there are no documents

A father who will not attend for testing cannot be dragged there physically. What a court makes of that refusal, in the light of the rest of the evidence, is for the court, so collect everything else as if the test may never happen.

What changes for the child once fatherhood is established?

• The legal link runs back to the child's birth, although rights already acquired by third parties are protected.
• The rules on who raises the child, who pays for it and how contact works apply to an acknowledged child in the same way as to a child of divorced parents.
• Changing the child's surname or family record is a further application, decided on what is best for the child, not an automatic consequence.

Does the child become Korean?

Do not assume either answer. Nationality is governed by the Nationality Act, and there are two possible readings of a late acknowledgment by a Korean father: that the child was Korean from birth because the link is treated as reaching back to the birth, or that nationality is acquired later through a report. Which applies to your child is decided by the authorities on the papers you file, so ask the immigration office and a lawyer before you build any plan on it. Until it is resolved, keep the child's own stay in order and renew it on time. A pending acknowledgment case is not by itself a residence status for either of you.

Can I get support while the case runs?

Once the case or a conciliation application is filed, the family court can make interim orders about the care of the child and the preservation of property. Child support itself follows once fatherhood is established, and on support the law of the place where the person entitled habitually lives is the usual starting point. Collecting from a parent who refuses to pay is a separate subject with its own orders, so raise it at the first meeting.

Next step

Bring the child's birth certificate, your own documents, and anything with his name on it: a message, a photograph, a transfer, a hospital form. Say where the child lives now and what status the child holds. That tells us whether to start with a request for acknowledgment or to file the claim, and what to do about the child's stay in the meantime. Consultations are paid; the fee is explained before the appointment is set.

법무법인 대한중앙
1533-7377

Rules applied

Civil Act (민법) Article 855(1) (a child born outside marriage may be acknowledged by the natural father or mother) and (2) (the child is treated as born in marriage from the parents' marriage), Article 859(1) (acknowledgment takes effect on being reported under the Act on the Registration of Family Relations), Article 860 (acknowledgment is retroactive to the child's birth, without prejudice to rights already acquired by third parties), Article 863 (the child, the child's lineal descendants or their legal representative may sue the father or mother for acknowledgment), Article 864 (where the parent has died, the claim is brought against the public prosecutor (검사) within 2 years of learning of the death), Article 864-2 (Articles 837 and 837-2 on care of the child and contact apply to an acknowledged child), Article 837 (care of the child: who raises it, the cost, and contact). Act on Private International Law (국제사법) Article 57 (jurisdiction over the establishment of parentage), Article 68(1) (law of the mother's nationality at birth; for the father and child, the father's national law at birth or the child's habitual residence law), (2) (acknowledgment may also follow the acknowledging person's national law), Article 71 (consent required by the child's national law), Article 73(1) (support follows the law of the habitual residence of the person entitled). Family Litigation Act (가사소송법) Article 2(1)1(b) item 9 (acknowledgment claim), Article 62 (interim orders). Named without article numbers: 국적법, 가족관계의 등록 등에 관한 법률.

This is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different.