Older divorce more common in Korea

The number of middle-aged people who are getting divorced in Korea has rapidly increased in the last few years, new figures suggest.

According to the Korean National Statistical Office's 2005 census data, there are now more than one million divorced people in the country and the number of those in their 40s and 50s who have gone through a marital separation has jumped significantly.

The stats show that one in 17 people (776,041) in this age group is now divorced which equates to a 75 per cent increase since 2000 when just 443,166 people aged between 40 and 50 were divorced.

This group now makes up more than 70 per cent of the total number of divorcees in Korea.

Divorce attorney Kim Su-jin noted that financial constraints may be a contributing factor to the increase, english.chosun.com reports.

"Among the many causes for divorce among those in their 40s and 50s, the biggest one is financial difficulties. This is the time when they are most needing money, for their children's education and other things, and they tend to divorce when they have serious money problems," he said.

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