Custody process under scrutiny as woman wins parental rights after 'abducting' children
Published: 20 Apr. 2026, 15:13
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[KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]
Experts are expressing concern over a court ruling that granted parental rights to a mother who had an affair and neglected her child. The mother had taken the children during court-approved visitation amid divorce proceedings and failed to return them to the father, who had legal custody; despite this, the court later transferred parental rights to her.
The Seoul Family Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff on Feb. 19 in a case in which the mother sought a change of parental rights from her former husband. The couple, who have two young daughters, began divorce proceedings in 2021, for which the primary cause was the mother’s affair. After discovering the affair, the father left home with the children and began living separately. During this process, the mother received a suspension of indictment from prosecutors on charges of child neglect.
The first trial court designated the father as the custodial parent on Dec. 21, 2022. Four days later, during a scheduled visitation, the mother met with the children but refused to return them. An appellate court in May 2023 also designated the father as the custodial parent, and the ruling was finalized in June of that year. Despite this, the mother still did not return the children and was later penalized with detention and fines for violating a court order to hand over the children.
Then, last year, the mother filed a request with the court to change parental rights. A change of parental rights refers to a switch in custody from one parent to the other after it has already been determined in a divorce. Courts typically grant such requests for significant changes in circumstances, such as neglect or abuse by the current custodial parent; major changes in the custodial parent’s living environment, such as remarriage or illness; or when the other parent can provide a more stable environment.
“I raised the children with utmost care,” the father said. “We went through professional home and custody evaluations, and even the divorce court found me more suitable to be the custodial parent.”
The court acknowledged that the mother bore significant responsibility for the divorce and that the father had been designated as both custodial parent and legal guardian. However, it ruled that “when considering what best serves the children’s welfare three years after the divorce ruling, it is appropriate to change parental rights to the mother.”
![John Sichi from the United States stages a protest, demanding that authorities help him exercise his custody over his two children, outside the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency in Ansan, Gyeonggi. Vincent staged a rally for two years from 2022 to 2023 after his former wife refused to return the children despite a court granting him custody. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/20/bd57b87b-9bd4-4186-852f-a1dc9ed16a6f.jpg)
John Sichi from the United States stages a protest, demanding that authorities help him exercise his custody over his two children, outside the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency in Ansan, Gyeonggi. Vincent staged a rally for two years from 2022 to 2023 after his former wife refused to return the children despite a court granting him custody. [JOONGANG ILBO]
Taking children without the other parent’s consent during divorce or custody disputes is referred to as “child abduction.” Korea is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which aims to prevent such cases. However, as the convention has not been fully enforced domestically, the U.S. State Department previously designated Korea as a noncompliant country.
The issue of child abduction gained public attention three years ago when an American man held protests on a treadmill near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul, claiming that “his Korean wife had disappeared with their children.”
However, cases such as this one — in which a parent who took the children during visitation is later granted parental rights — are rare.
“If courts grant parental rights to those who commit child abduction, as in this case, it will lead to a repeated cycle of ignoring court rulings,” said attorney Won Eui-rim of an association advocating for parental rights.
The mother's attorney argued that “this was not an act of child abduction at all.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BYUN MIN-CHUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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