08/31/98 DIVORCE, AMERICAN STYLE (int'l edition)

DIVORCE, AMERICAN STYLE (int'l edition)

Do you marry in order to get a divorce? Do you prepare for your divorce while you're exchanging marriage vows? No--at least, most people don't. You marry to be bound to each other, as ghastly as that may sound to some. But the prenuptial agreements and other tactics mentioned in ''Executive divorce'' (Social Issues, Aug. 3) seem to make a mockery of the institution of marriage.
The solution for CEOs or anyone else with similar marital woes is not stashing away cash and assets on faraway islands or that ''most effective weapon,'' the prenuptial agreement. They should take their marriage vows seriously and work to keep their marriages together and lasting.
Gyung Ju Jun
Seoul

I appreciated the article on executive divorce, but it failed to capture the magnitude of the problem. In my case, it took three and a half years, six trial postponements, and more than $500,000 in legal fees to get to trial, far more than the assets I had at the time of separation. No wonder men are often pushed to settle at exorbitant levels. To date, family law has provided ''fairness'' by allowing some men to pursue the same tactic, forcing their successful wives to support them after divorce, as noted in the article. Perhaps when both sexes are thoroughly disgusted by this behavior, the laws may change.
David Cheriton
Palo Alto, Calif.