Open Decision Ledger · Family & inheritance law
Interest in declaring a marriage void after divorce
Supreme Court, May 23, 2024, 2020Meu15896 (en banc judgment)
Case name: 혼인의무효
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
Once a divorce has dissolved a marriage, may a party still obtain a declaration that the marriage was void, that is, is there an interest in confirming the invalidity of a marriage that existed only in the past?
Holding
Yes, in principle. Once a divorce has dissolved the marriage, the earlier marriage is a past legal relationship, but because countless legal relations rest on the marriage, declaring the marriage itself void may be an effective means of settling those disputes in one go, so unless there are special circumstances the interest to seek such a declaration is recognised. A divorce affects the marriage's effects only for the future, so the legal relations formed on the marriage before the divorce remain valid, and a final declaration of nullity also supplies the objective evidence needed to have an incorrectly recorded marriage corrected in the family register.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
특별한 사정이 없는 한 혼인관계가 이미 해소된 이후라고 하더라도 혼인무효의 확인을 구할 이익이 인정된다고 보아야 한다.
Unofficial English translation
Absent special circumstances, even where the marital relationship has already been dissolved, the interest in seeking confirmation of the invalidity of the marriage must be recognized.
Disposition
Reversed and remanded Stated in the decision
원심판결을 파기한다. 제1심판결을 취소하고, 사건을 서울가정법원에 환송한다.
Unofficial English translation
The judgment of the court below is reversed. The judgment of the court of first instance is set aside, and the case is remanded to the Seoul Family Court.
Form of the test
Elements stated Stated in the decision
신분관계인 혼인관계는 그것을 전제로 하여 수많은 법률관계가 형성되고 그에 관하여 일일이 효력의 확인을 구하는 절차를 반복하는 것보다 과거의 법률관계인 혼인관계 자체의 무효 확인을 구하는 편이 관련된 분쟁을 한꺼번에 해결하는 유효·적절한 수단일 수 있으므로
Unofficial English translation
since a marital relationship, which is a status relationship, forms numerous legal relationships premised upon it, seeking confirmation of the invalidity of the marital relationship itself, which is a past legal relationship, may be an effective and appropriate means of resolving the related disputes at once, rather than repeatedly pursuing procedures to confirm the effect of each such legal relationship,
Factors
- 무효인 혼인과 이혼은 법적 효과가 다르다.
- 가사소송법은 부부 중 어느 한쪽이 사망하여 혼인관계가 해소된 경우 혼인관계 무효 확인의 소를 제기하는 방법에 관한 규정을 두고 있다.
- 대법원은 협의파양으로 양친자관계가 해소된 이후 제기된 입양무효 확인의 소에서 확인의 이익을 인정하였다.
- 무효인 혼인 전력이 잘못 기재된 가족관계등록부의 정정 요구를 위한 객관적 증빙자료를 확보하기 위해서는 혼인관계 무효 확인의 소를 제기할 필요가 있다.
Unofficial English translation
• A void marriage and a divorce have different legal effects.
• The Family Litigation Act contains a provision on the method of bringing an action for confirmation of the invalidity of a marriage where the marital relationship has been dissolved by the death of one of the spouses.
• The Supreme Court recognized the interest in confirmation in an action for confirmation of the invalidity of an adoption brought after the adoptive parent-child relationship had been dissolved by consensual dissolution of adoption.
• In order to secure objective documentary evidence for requesting the correction of a Family Relations Register in which a record of a prior void marriage has been erroneously entered, it is necessary to bring an action for confirmation of the invalidity of a marriage.
Relation to precedent
Changes earlier decisions Stated in the decision
대법원 1984. 2. 28. 선고 82므67 판결(공1984, 597)(변경)
Unofficial English translation
Supreme Court Decision 82Meu67 decided February 28, 1984 (Gong 1984, 597) (changed)
Decisions referred to
대법원 1984. 2. 28. 선고 82므67 판결(공1984, 597)(변경), 대법원 1995. 3. 28. 선고 94므1447 판결(공1995상, 1751), 대법원 1995. 9. 29. 선고 94므1553, 1560 판결(공1995하, 3625), 대법원 1995. 11. 14. 선고 95므694 판결(공1996상, 54)
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
What special circumstances would defeat the interest in declaring a marriage void once the marriage has been dissolved by divorce?
A later Supreme Court decision that defines those special circumstances would require this entry to be read again, as would an amendment to Article 24 of the Family Litigation Act, which the Court read as presupposing such an action after the marriage has been dissolved, or to Article 107 of the Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relations.
Cross-family AI independent reading & axis check
8 of 8 axes matched GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI, codex CLI) · 2026-10-25
A reader from another model family (GPT-6 Astra), given the official text but not the primary reading, agreed on all 8 axes.
Raw responses and comparison record: Protocol · Blind readings (JSONL) · Axis comparison (JSONL) · SHA-256 (JSON)
Lower-court contrast & scope of application
Lower-court reading vs. Supreme Court holding
Lower-court context: The first-instance court dismissed all of the plaintiff's claims, citing Supreme Court Decision 82Meu67 for the view that where a marriage has already been dissolved by a divorce report, confirming its invalidity is a confirmation of a past legal relationship and so lacks any interest. It found nothing showing that the nullity affected the plaintiff's present legal relations. The appellate court adopted those reasons and added that the plaintiff's exclusion from various support programmes for single-parent families did not directly change the plaintiff's concrete rights and duties, and dismissed the appeal.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court held that the marriage-nullity action is an effective means of settling in one go the disputes surrounding the many legal relations formed on the marriage, so the plaintiff's failure to identify a concrete present legal relationship does not defeat the interest. It held that the court below, by dismissing the primary claim for lack of interest and keeping that dismissal, misapprehended the law on interest in a declaratory action and thereby affected the outcome. It reversed the whole judgment, held the case fit to be decided by itself, cancelled the first-instance judgment and remanded the case to the Seoul Family Court.
Distinguishing conditions
- A case in which special circumstances make the confirmation of a past marriage's nullity useless for settling any related dispute.
- A dispute with no legal relation formed on the marriage, so that confirming the marriage's invalidity resolves nothing.
- A case in which the family register does not incorrectly record a marriage history, so that no objective evidence for correcting the entry has to be secured.
Record verification notes
Set the file against the five reasons the Court gave, above all against the legal relations that rest on the marriage, such as a spouse's joint liability for a third party's transaction on ordinary household matters under Article 832 of the Civil Act, which a final declaration of nullity would remove as against third parties under Article 21(1) of the Family Litigation Act. Then check whether the family register correction under Article 107 of the Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relations still needs the judgment as evidence, and whether any special circumstance defeats the interest. Note that Supreme Court Decision 82Meu67 no longer states the rule to the contrary.
From the official text
Points at issue
혼인관계가 이혼으로 해소된 이후에도 과거 일정기간 존재하였던 혼인관계의 무효 확인을 구할 확인의 이익이 있는지 여부(원칙적 적극)
Unofficial English translation
Whether there is an interest in confirmation (affirmative as a rule) in seeking confirmation of the invalidity of a marriage that existed for a certain period in the past, even after the marital relationship has been dissolved by divorce
Summary of the holding
이혼으로 혼인관계가 이미 해소되었다면 기왕의 혼인관계는 과거의 법률관계가 된다. 그러나 신분관계인 혼인관계는 그것을 전제로 하여 수많은 법률관계가 형성되고 그에 관하여 일일이 효력의 확인을 구하는 절차를 반복하는 것보다 과거의 법률관계인 혼인관계 자체의 무효 확인을 구하는 편이 관련된 분쟁을 한꺼번에 해결하는 유효·적절한 수단일 수 있으므로, 특별한 사정이 없는 한 혼인관계가 이미 해소된 이후라고 하더라도 혼인무효의 확인을 구할 이익이 인정된다고 보아야 한다. 그 상세한 이유는 다음과 같다. ① 무효인 혼인과 이혼은 법적 효과가 다르다. 무효인 혼인은 처음부터 혼인의 효력이 발생하지 않는다. 따라서 인척이거나 인척이었던 사람과의 혼인금지 규정(민법 제809조 제2항)이나 친족 사이에 발생한 재산범죄에 대하여 형을 면제하는 친족상도례 규정(형법 제328조 제1항 등) 등이 적용되지 않는다. 반면 혼인관계가 이혼으로 해소되었더라도 그 효력은 장래에 대해서만 발생하므로 이혼 전에 혼인을 전제로 발생한 법률관계는 여전히 유효하다. 그러므로 이혼 이후에도 혼인관계가 무효임을 확인할 실익이 존재한다. ② 가사소송법은 부부 중 어느 한쪽이 사망하여 혼인관계가 해소된 경우 혼인관계 무효 확인의 소를 제기하는 방법에 관한 규정을 두고 있다. 이러한 가사소송법 규정에 비추어 이혼한 이후 제기되는 혼인무효 확인의 소가 과거의 법률관계를 대상으로 한다는 이유로 확인의 이익이 없다고 볼 것은 아니다. ③ 대법원은 협의파양으로 양친자관계가 해소된 이후 제기된 입양무효 확인의 소에서 확인의 이익을 인정하였다. 대법원의 위와 같은 판단은 이혼으로 혼인관계가 해소된 이후 제기된 혼인무효 확인의 소에서 확인의 이익을 판단할 때에도 동일하게 적용될 수 있다. ④ 무효인 혼인 전력이 잘못 기재된 가족관계등록부의 정정 요구를 위한 객관적 증빙자료를 확보하기 위해서는 혼인관계 무효 확인의 소를 제기할 필요가 있다. ⑤ 가족관계등록부의 잘못된 기재가 단순한 불명예이거나 간접적·사실상의 불이익에 불과하다고 보아 그 기재의 정정에 필요한 자료를 확보하기 위하여 기재 내용의 무효 확인을 구하는 소에서 확인의 이익을 부정한다면, 혼인무효 사유의 존부에 대하여 법원의 판단을 구할 방법을 미리 막아버림으로써 국민이 온전히 권리구제를 받을 수 없게 되는 결과를 가져올 수 있다.
Order
원심판결을 파기한다. 제1심판결을 취소하고, 사건을 서울가정법원에 환송한다.
Unofficial English translation
The judgment of the court below is reversed. The judgment of the court of first instance is set aside, and the case is remanded to the Seoul Family Court.
Provisions referred to
민사소송법 제250조, 민법 제809조 제2항, 제812조, 제815조, 형법 제328조 제1항, 가사소송법 제24조, 가족관계의 등록 등에 관한 법률 제107조
Read 2026-10-25 · Cross-read 2026-10-25. All quotes matched against the official text. The Chinese-character placeholders the court used for anonymised parties are given in their Korean readings, and parenthetical Chinese-character glosses are omitted.
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