A Seoul court has ruled against a woman who sued a matchmaking agency after marrying a man through its service, claiming the agency had provided false information about her husband.
The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday found that the information the agency provided “cannot be considered very distant from the truth,” dismissing the woman’s claim and ordering her to pay 33 million won ($22,600) in remaining fees and penalties.
The plaintiff signed a contract with the agency in January 2022 promising introductions to three potential matches within a year for 11 million won. The terms also included an additional 27.5 million won if she succeeded in tying the knot through the service, with a penalty if the amount was not paid within two weeks of the wedding.
In February 2022, the woman was introduced to a man described as having parents with 10 billion won in assets and a younger sister working as an executive secretary at a major conglomerate. The couple married five months later, only to divorce after another five months.
Following the divorce, the woman sought 36 million won in damages, claiming the agency misled her about the groom’s background. The agency countered that she failed to pay the agreed incentive, demanding 55 million won, including penalties.
The court sided with the agency.
“In the registration form submitted to the agency, the man wrote that his parents’ assets were between 5 billion and 10 billion won, and that his younger sister is an executive secretary at a holding company,” Judge Lee Yoo-bin said in the ruling. “It is true that the agency told her the assets were over 10 billion won and that the sister was an executive secretary, but it is difficult to say the information was substantially different from the truth.”
The court also noted the woman had proceeded with the marriage despite knowing the parents’ assets were below 10 billion won. “Taking these circumstances into account, it is difficult to say this discrepancy was a crucial factor in her decision to marry,” the ruling added.
The judge ordered the woman to pay 27.5 million won in incentives and 5.5 million won in penalties, but rejected the agency’s full claim of 55 million won, calling it “unfairly excessive.”
It remains unclear whether either side will appeal.
The case follows another similar ruling in Daegu earlier this month involving a matchmaking agency and its client. In that case, a woman claimed the agency told her the man owned a private preschool and earned 300 million won a year. It was later found the preschool belonged to his parents and his annual income was 56 million won, but the court ruled against the woman, citing the parents’ intention to eventually bequeath the business.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
