One day I came across an anonymous post that stayed in my head. The author had become pregnant and given birth believing the father was a medical student, only to discover later he was a medical device sales rep. Because the child support was too small, she wanted to renounce her parental authority. Putting emotion aside, this post contains three questions I often field in family-law practice. Is it fraud to engage in a relationship while concealing one occupation? Is child support calculated based on actual income? Can parental authority simply be renounced? In the consultation room, I usually walk through these three separately.
1) Lying About Occupation in a Relationship — Is It Fraud?
Bottom line first: it is generally hard to prosecute as fraud. Fraud under Korean criminal law fundamentally punishes obtaining property or pecuniary benefit by deception. Engaging in a relationship under a false occupation is not the obtaining of pecuniary benefit and does not fit the elements of fraud.
The former crime of fraudulent seduction (promise-to-marry-based seduction) once existed but was abolished as an overreach on sexual self-determination. Statutory deceitful intercourse exists separately but generally applies to protected classes such as minors or persons with diminished capacity for decision-making; it does not punish lies between adults.
2) Child Support: Not Based on a Doctor Income but on Actual Income
Child support is decided based on the Family Court child-support calculation table, applied to the income bracket of the combined parental income. The key points:
- Whether the father lied about being a doctor is not decisive for child-support calculation
- Calculation is typically based on actual occupation and monthly income
- Each parent income and assets are combined to set the burden ratio
- Even when one side has no income, a baseline share is typically owed
Even in high-income brackets exceeding 10 million won per month, child support per child often forms around 3 million won. Rather than being upset he is not a doctor, it pays to focus more energy on accurately mapping the father actual income and assets.
3) Enhanced Child Support: Can You Get More for Being Lied To?
It is not that courts entirely ignore the lie in calculating child support. But it typically does not function strongly as an enhancement factor. Meaningful enhancement factors are these objective circumstances:
- The child special expenses (medical, education)
- Additional costs from one parent non-cooperation
- Differences based on the child age and stage of education
The most heart-wrenching part of the post is the question of whether one can renounce custody and force the father side to take the child. In the consultation room, we encounter surprisingly similar questions. The points to keep in mind are:
- Parental authority and custody are both rights and duties, so they cannot simply be renounced at will
- If both parents refuse to raise the child, the court will assign custody compulsorily through family investigation and in-depth interviews to whichever side offers the most suitable rearing environment
- In practice, compulsory assignment itself is extremely exceptional, and courts generally encourage agreement and mediation
The family-court judgment starts from the ideal that, even if the parents separate, the welfare of the child must not be shaken.
Renunciation requests that run head-on against this value are strongly rejected, and judges almost without exception induce agreement until the end.
Legally, distinguishing the following helps:
- Renouncing parental authority: nearly impossible. Recognized only on objective grounds such as death or mental incapacity
- Changing the custodian: possible. With changed circumstances, you can litigate by petitioning to change the custodian
- Adjusting visitation: possible. The schedule can be revised in response to changes in the rearing environment
6) The Real Danger in the Consultation Room — Emotional Decisions
What I tense up most about in the consultation room is when I hear I cannot raise this child any longer. Behind that sentence, the following circumstances typically hide:
- Postpartum depression and emotional difficulty
- Cut-off from support by the maternal or paternal side
- Economic pressure from unpaid child support
These should be solved through real-world remedies such as compulsory enforcement of child support, psychological support, and child-allowance utilization, rather than legal renunciation. Renunciation is typically the most inefficient option.
7) Compulsory Enforcement of Child Support — Tools That Actually Work
- Direct payment order for child support
- Collection support through the Child Support Enforcement Agency
- Sanctions for non-payment such as license suspension and exit bans
- Criminal penalties under the Child Support Enforcement and Support Act
Rather than dwelling on the feeling of being deceived, swiftly entering the procedure to actually receive child support is typically the strongest form of protection.
- Single-parent family support
- Child allowance and parenting allowance
- Single-parent family housing support
- Counseling vouchers
In the consultation room I generally pair legal procedure with information about these administrative resources. Looking at the case beyond a legal win, with a view to the holistic recovery of the rearing environment, matters.
FAQ
Q. The amount on the child-support calculation table looks too small. Is there a way to get more?
A. Typically the most effective levers are proving the child special expenses (medical, educational, disability-related) and accurately mapping the assets (real estate, deposits, self-employment revenue).
Q. Can I really renounce parental authority or custody?
A. Typically nearly impossible. With a change of circumstances, a practical alternative is to petition for a change of custodian or adjustment of visitation.
Closing
The more emotionally devastating the time, the more cold legal organization is needed. To protect the child and yourself, the path runs from the feeling of being deceived to the procedural ground of the child-support calculation table, and then to the tool of petitioning to change the custodian. If a similar question is on your mind, please consider reviewing realistic procedures with us together, rather than impractical options like renouncing parental authority.
Child-Support Calculation Table — The Big Picture
The child-support table is typically constructed as combined parental income brackets x child age brackets. Instead of one parent stated occupation, typically the following materials serve as the basis for actual income:
- Earned-income withholding receipt
- VAT filings for business income
- Auxiliary data such as card sales, rental income
- Estimated income after deducting incidental costs from self-employment sales
If a parent is self-employed or freelance, sales data and card-merchant settlement data typically must be secured together. Disputing only on the fact of low-reported taxes typically does not move the fact-finding.
When One Side Claims No Income
In the consultation room, I typically check these materials together:
- Card spending and patterns of communications and transport expenses
- Maintenance costs of real estate and vehicles held in the persons name
- Traces of SNS and promotional activity
- Operable licenses and certifications
Even with nominally no income, an estimated income reflecting actual living standards is typically used as the basis for calculation.
Special Medical and Educational Expenses for the Child
When a child receives chronic-illness care, developmental support, or specialized arts and athletics education, the amount on the table is typically subject to enhancement. To have this recognized, the following materials are typically needed:
- Diagnosis and treatment plan
- Attendance and payment records from schools and treatment institutions
- A one-year cost simulation
One-Line Conclusion
Attempting to resolve the anger of being deceived through fraud claims or parental-authority renunciation typically hits dead ends. Using the practical structure of child-support calculation, compulsory enforcement, and social-support tools is typically the fastest and strongest form of protection.
Parental authority refers to the parents overall personal and property decision-making power over the child; custody concerns who actually performs the rearing and care among those rights. The two powers typically converge on the same person, but depending on circumstances they can be separated. For example, parental authority can be held jointly while custody rests with one side. In particularly intense disputes, joint parental authority with custody on the more stable side is often used.
Triggers for Changing the Rearing Environment
Petitions to change the custodian are typically accepted in patterns like:
- Objective signs of abuse or neglect of the child
- The custodial parent serious health decline, detention, or relocation
- Persistent obstruction of visitation
- A clear expression of will from the child (typically considering age and maturity)
In the consultation room, I typically tell those who want to file a change of custodian out of anger to first organize objective evidence of changed circumstances. Emotion alone makes change difficult.
Byline Authored and reviewed by Attorney Noh Jong-eon / Reviewed 2026-05-30
This article is a column for general information purposes and does not guarantee specific case outcomes. Conclusions can vary by facts; please seek a personalized consultation from an attorney where advice is needed.
