Our divorce in Korea has been sent to "mediation" and I don't speak Korean — what actually happens in the room, and can I be bound by something I didn't understand?

Mediation in a Korean family court is a structured negotiation supervised by the court, not a hearing where anyone rules against you; nothing is decided in that room unless you agree to it, and if you do not agree, the case simply proceeds to trial with no penalty for having declined. An interpreter is provided by the court on request. And yes — if you agree to terms in mediation, they are recorded and are final in the same way a judgment is, which is why the room is not the place to be surprised. Prepare for it as the most important negotiation of the case, because it usually is.

What mediation is

Divorce cases in Korea go to mediation (조정, jojeong) before trial under the Family Litigation Act's mediation-first rule. The session is chaired by a mediation judge or a panel of mediators, often including a lay mediator with family-law experience. It is held in a mediation room, not a courtroom; the parties, their lawyers, and the mediators sit at a table. The mediators hear each side's position, identify the points of disagreement, and propose terms. Sessions typically run under an hour; complex cases may be adjourned to a second or third session.

If agreement is reached, the terms are recorded in a mediation record (조정조서, jojeong joseo), which has the force of a final judgment: it is enforceable, and it cannot be appealed. If no agreement is reached, the mediators may issue a decision in lieu of mediation (조정에 갈음하는 결정) — a proposed order that becomes binding only if neither party objects within two weeks — or the case is declared not mediated and proceeds to trial before a judge.

Your language rights

You are entitled to an interpreter (통역인, tongyeogin) under the Civil Procedure Act for any proceeding in which you cannot follow Korean, and the court arranges one on request; ask in writing now, three weeks out, and confirm the week before. You may also bring your own interpreter, and many foreign parties do both — the court's interpreter for the record, their own for private consultation with counsel during breaks. What you must never do is proceed on the strength of your wife's lawyer's English or a mediator's goodwill.

Any document you are asked to agree to should be translated for you before you say yes. A mediation record signed on the day, in Korean, on the basis of a verbal summary, is binding; "I didn't understand" is not a ground to reopen it except in narrow cases of fraud or fundamental mistake, which are hard to prove.

Pressure, and refusing

Mediators do propose, and they do explain what a court would likely decide, and that can feel like pressure. It is also useful information: a mediator saying "a court would likely award custody to the primary caregiver with visitation as follows" is telling you where the trial would land. What mediators cannot do is impose terms. Declining is not held against you at trial; judges do not see mediation as a test of reasonableness, and the substance of what was discussed is confidential from the trial judge.

The right way to refuse is with a counter-proposal. On custody (양육권, yangyukgwon), if you are not the primary caregiver of a ten-year-old, a realistic goal is often joint parental authority with substantial visitation (면접교섭, myeonjeop gyoseop) rather than sole custody; a mediator will engage with a specific schedule and dismiss an abstract demand. On the savings, property division (재산분할, jaesan bunhal) is decided by contribution over eight years; bring the numbers.

What to bring

Your lawyer, with a written position on each disputed point and a proposed schedule for the child. Statements showing the savings and any evidence of your contribution. A proposal for child support (양육비, yangyukbi) based on the court's guideline table. Your calendar for the next sessions. And nothing you have not shown your lawyer; documents produced in the room are the ones that get characterized by the other side.

What this means for your stay in Korea

Nothing; your E-7 is tied to your employment.

Practical insight

Foreign parties do badly in mediation in one predictable way: they arrive to "hear what she wants" and leave having agreed to it, because agreeing ended an uncomfortable hour. Korean parties arrive with a proposal. The remedy is symmetrical — arrive with yours, in writing, and treat the mediator's assessment of the likely trial outcome as data for your next session, not as a verdict. The second point is the ten-year-old: courts and mediators give real weight to a child that age's expressed wishes, and to which parent has been doing the school runs. Know what that record looks like before the room does.

Send us the mediation notice and your position on custody and the savings, and we can prepare the written proposal for the first session — by text consultation or at +82-2-522-3959.

— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, International Family Law Team