Soaring Senior Divorce Rates

The number of international marriages in Korea and the number of divorces is soaring. The senior divorce rate is increasing as well.

According to 2006 divorce statistics released by the Korea National Statistical Office on Wednesday, the number of divorced Korean-foreigner couples reached 6,280, a 46.8 percent increase from 2005.

The number of international divorces amounted to 1,866 in 2002, 2,164 in 2003, 3,400 in 2004, and 4,278 in 2005.

The number of divorces between a Korean husband and a foreign wife was 4,010, a 64.1 percent increase year on year, and the number of divorces between a Korean wife and a foreign husband was 2,270, a 23.8 percent increase year on year.

The total number of divorces was 125,000 last year (342 a day on average), a 2.7 percent decrease from 128,500 in 2005. On average, 5.3 couples out of 500 couples (1,000 married people) got divorced, a decrease from 5.5 of 2005.

The total number of divorces is on the decrease, but the number of senior divorces is on the rise.

The number of divorces decreased since 2005 among men under the age of 44. However, it increased 2.8 percent in those ages 45-49, 7.3 percent in those ages 50-54, and 7.8 percent in those more than 55 years of age. In particular, the number of divorces among men over the age of 55 last year was 3.5 times more than 10 years ago.

Among the causes of divorce cited, 49.7 percent said differences of personality, 14.6 percent cited economic reasons, 8.9 percent cited conflicts between family members, 7.6 percent cited unfaithfulness, and 4.5 percent cited physical and mental abuse.

jarrett@donga.com