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Staff Reporter
The number of couples filing for divorce fell in 2008 for the fifth consecutive year due mainly to a mandatory system under which couples are required to take a one- to three-month cooling off period.
But more elderly couples living together for more than 20 years decided to go their separate ways later in life as more middle-aged married women filed for divorce in line with their rising financial and social status. Additionally, with more Koreans tying the knot with foreigners, some inter-racial marriages are also ending in divorce, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the total last year.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Monday, the number of divorces totaled 116,500 in 2008, down 6.1 percent from 124,100 in 2007, falling for the fifth straight year since 2003 when 166,600 married couples ended their marriages.
The divorce rate, which is the recorded number of divorces per 1,000 persons, stood at 2.4, down from 2.5 in 2007.
However, the number of filings by older couples increased last year in line with the rising economic and social status of women. The number of divorces involving couples living together for more than 20 years stood at 26,900 in 2008, up 1,900 from the previous year. It accounted for 23.1 percent of the total, up from 20.1 percent in 2007.
The average age of male divorcees was 44.3 in 2008, up from 43.2 the preceding year. The average age of divorced females was 40.5, up from 39.5 over the same period. The average length of time people lived together before divorce totaled 12.8 years, up from 12.3 years.
``Married couples these days tend to take divorce more seriously than in the past. Also, the mandatory cooling-off period has helped reduce divorces by giving people time for reflection. But more middle-aged married women, who in the past had to stay in a marriage because of lack of financial means, have decided to live separately from their husbands,'' an NSO official said.
Among causes for divorces, 47.8 percent of divorced couples cited differences in personality as the most important reason for their split. Financial problems were the major factor for 14.2 percent, followed by adultery (8.1 percent) and disharmony among family members (7.7 percent).
Meanwhile, 11,255 Koreans and their foreign spouses divorced last year, up 29.8 percent from 2007. The figure accounted for 9.7 percent of the total, up from 7 percent. About nine out of 10 divorced couples were married for less than five years.
Divorces among Korean men and their foreign wives increased 39.5 percent to 7,962 from the previous year, while those involving Korean women and their non-Korean husbands came to 3,293, up 11.1 percent.
leehs@koreatimes.co.kr
