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Certified Korean Legal Separation Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record a legal separation in South Korea, including the registry annotations and endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
Korea has no legal separation either
Korean law provides no judicial legal separation. As in Japan, a couple is married or divorced, and there is no decree that suspends cohabitation while preserving the marriage.
So a Korean client has no separation papers to send. What Korea does have is a divorce-by-agreement route with a feature no US reader expects: a mandatory waiting period.
The cooling-off period
Korean divorce by agreement requires the couple to appear before a family court judge for confirmation and then to observe a deliberation period — one month with no minor children, three months with them — before the divorce can be reported and take effect.
So a Korean file contains a confirmation date and a later reporting date, and the divorce takes effect on the second. A reader taking the first date has the status wrong for up to three months.
The family relation register
The divorce is recorded in the 가족관계등록부, the family relation register that replaced the abolished hoju system in 2008, and the marriage relation certificate shows it.
Past marital history appears only in the detailed version of the certificate; the general version prints the current state as though it had always been so. Order the detailed one.
Judicial divorce, and the fault grounds
Where the parties do not agree, divorce is judicial on statutory grounds, and Korean courts have long applied a principle restricting a spouse at fault from obtaining a divorce against the other's wishes.
So a Korean file may show a long-running separation in fact with no divorce, because the petitioning spouse could not obtain one. We translate what the record says. See our Korean page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, and every seal, stamp and registry endorsement is translated with the text. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
Where is my Korean separation decree?
There is not one. Korea has no legal separation.
Why are there two dates on my divorce?
Confirmation before the judge and the later reporting after the deliberation period. The divorce takes effect on the second.
My certificate shows no former marriage.
You have the general version. Only the detailed certificate lists past marital history.
My clients separated years ago with no divorce.
Korean courts have restricted a spouse at fault from divorcing against the other's wishes. We translate what the record says.
Ready to get started?
Upload the document and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.