Filipina wins landmark paternity suit vs Korean dad of her two children
MANILA, Philippines – After a year and a half of legal proceedings, a court in Korea has ruled on a landmark paternity suit in favor of a Filipina in the Philippines who was abandoned by the Korean father of her two children.
The court ruling, reported by online news site Korea Bizwire last June 23, 2014, “is the first time for [Korean-Filipino children] to win in a civil lawsuit seeking to find their wayward fathers.”
The Korean national had been in the Philippines for several years for business and was never legally married to the Filipina, the article said.
“He suddenly went back to Korea [around 2004] after which he stopped contacting the woman and refused to support his two sons financially,” it said.
“The mother came to Korea with her two sons with the Korean man’s name and photo in hand. Just before their visas expired, the mother met someone in the Emergency Support Center for Migrant Women and with the help of lawyers affiliated with the center she could successfully file for the case in December 2012,” the article said.
The Filipina received financial support from the Korean government and even shouldered the 10 million Korean won cost for the DNA testing of her children.
Article continues after this advertisement“The father, meanwhile, kept refusing to get the DNA test until he was forced to do so by the court with the threat of penalties,” the article said.
Article continues after this advertisement“Judge Kwon Yang-hee at the Seoul Family Court reached a verdict on June 22 that the plaintiffs, the two [Korean-Filipino] sons of a Korean father, were confirmed to be the children of the father,” it said.
The Filipina mother may soon begin receiving financial child support from the Korean father once the case is formally concluded.
According to statistics from the Department of Tourism, Korea is the top source of tourists going into the country with 374,223 arrivals, a 22.06 percent share of the total inbound traffic in 2013.
There are around 69,000 Filipinos in Korea, according to the December 2012 records of the Commission on Filipinos overseas. A large majority, more than 41,000, are temporary workers.
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