On November 25, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the information provided by the matchmaking company "could not be considered too far from the truth". The court dismissed the plaintiff's claim and ordered her to pay 33 million won (over 590 million dong) in outstanding fees and penalties.

The woman had signed a contract with the matchmaking company in January 2022, which promised to introduce her to three suitable individuals within one year for a fee of 11 million won. The terms also included an additional payment of 27.5 million won if she successfully married through the service, along with a penalty if this amount was not paid within two weeks of the wedding.

In February 2022, the company introduced her to a man whose parents were described as owning assets exceeding 10 billion won (approximately 180 billion dong), and whose sister was an executive secretary at a major corporation. The couple married five months later, but their cohabitation lasted only five months.

Following her divorce, the woman sought 36 million won in damages, alleging that the matchmaking company had deceived her about the groom's background.

Conversely, the company argued that she had failed to pay the agreed-upon bonus and demanded 55 million won in compensation, including penalties.

The court sided with the matchmaking company. According to Judge Lee Yoo-bin, in the application submitted to the company, the man stated his parents' assets were between 5 and 10 billion won, and his sister was an executive secretary at a general corporation.

Despite the matchmaking company informing the plaintiff that the assets were "over 10 billion won" and the sister worked at a "major corporation", the judge found it "difficult to say this information differed significantly from the truth".

The court also pointed out that the woman proceeded with the marriage even though she knew the groom's parents' assets were less than 10 billion won, and this difference was not a crucial factor in her decision to marry.

The judge ordered the woman to pay 27.5 million won for the bonus and 5.5 million won in penalties, but rejected the company's 55 million won claim, calling it "excessively unfair".

Earlier this month, a similar ruling was issued in a case in Daegu involving a matchmaking company and a client. A woman accused the company of telling her that the groom owned a private kindergarten and earned 300 million won annually. She later discovered that the kindergarten belonged to his parents and his annual income was 56 million won.

However, the court ruled against the woman, citing that his parents intended to bequeath their assets to their son.

Tue Anh (according to Korea Herald)