Director Hong Sang-soo Drops Divorce Proceedings

Published on 2019/07/01 | Source

Film director Hong Sang-soo has decided not to appeal a bizarre judgement that forces him to remain married to his wife.

In a statement read by his lawyer last Thursday, Song said, "In order to concentrate on present life and work, I decided not to appeal. However, the fact that my marriage has completely ended remains unchanged. When social circumstances change, then I will try to get it confirmed by the court again".

The Seoul Family Court on June 14 dismissed Hong's divorce filing under Supreme Court precedent that prevents the guilty party from filing for divorce. The presumption is that the innocent party risks being deprived of financial support and social status through no fault of their own.

Hong's wife insists their marriage is still valid even though he has been openly living with actress Kim Min-hee for years.

There are hopes that the antiquated rule may finally be for the chop as a substantial minority of Supreme Court justices argued in the last ruling in 2015 that it is unreasonable to force a couple to stay married if the marriage is to all intents and purposes dead.