According to the 2008 Supreme Court Almanac released on Sunday, the number of divorces dropped for four consecutive years -- from 172,822 in 2003 to 124,225 in 2007.

About 120,000 couples applied for divorce between 1998 and 2000. The number started to rise in 2001 and peaked at 172,822 in 2003.

An official with the Seoul Family Court said, "We believe the divorce rate has fallen because many of them feel economically burdened; they will be detained by the court if they fail to pay child support in time, and because a cooling-off period requires divorcing couples to reconsider their decision."

By contrast, the divorce rate among childless couples is rising. The ratio of childless couples to all divorced couples increased from 30.2 percent in 2003 to 41.2 percent in 2007.

The official said this shows that divorcing couples feel under less pressure if they have no children.

(englishnews@chosun.com )