Democratic Party Recruit Choi Hye-young Responds to Basic Living Expense Fraud Allegations: "Because of Poverty"

"At the time of marriage, husband was unemployed and in-laws had debt... Reason for registering marriage after 8 years was to receive government support for IVF"

Choi Hye-young, the first talent recruit of the Democratic Party of Korea and a professor at Gangdong University, is expressing her thoughts on the 26th at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Professor Choi Hye-young of Gangdong University, the first recruited talent of the Democratic Party of Korea, explained the allegations of fraudulent receipt of basic living expenses and support funds for the most severely disabled living alone by saying, "We were unable to register our marriage, and it was merely a process of enduring poverty to survive."

Earlier, allegations arose that although Professor Choi married disabled rugby player Jung Nak-hyun in 2011, they delayed registering their marriage for eight years until last year, thereby fraudulently receiving basic living expenses and support services for the most severely disabled living alone. The Guro District Office has received the report and is currently investigating.

In an explanatory statement distributed through the Democratic Party on the 25th, Professor Choi said, "The reason we did not register our marriage was due to the livelihood issues we had to bear as persons with severe spinal cord disabilities and the anxiety that we might have to take on my in-laws' debts. It was never to fraudulently receive basic living expenses." She also emphasized, "Since my husband found a job in 2017, we have not received basic living expenses," adding, "It was simply a process of enduring poverty to survive."

Professor Choi explained, "When we married in 2011, both my husband and I were spinal cord quadriplegics and unemployed. My husband had debts exceeding 60 million won due to his father's failed business." She continued, "My husband opposed registering our marriage, saying that starting a newlywed life by taking on debt rather than providing a comfortable life for his wife was unthinkable. Later, even though I had a small income, it was not enough for the two of us to live on, so I could not go against his wishes." She added, "Since then, we have struggled to maintain our livelihood with severe disabilities. Thanks to not losing hope, my husband found a job in 2017, and as we gained some capacity to repay debts, he stopped receiving basic living expenses from that time."

Regarding the reason for registering their marriage belatedly last year, she said, "We learned that registering our marriage would allow us to have an IVF baby through government assistance." Professor Choi said, "We have been steadily repaying our debts for over two years, and last September, I secured a professorship with a modest salary, which gave me confidence that we could repay our debts," adding, "I registered our marriage with the simple desire to build a family like others." She also added, "I can disclose medical records from the obstetrics and gynecology clinic that I have been visiting for a long time to have an IVF baby."

Professor Choi is scheduled to undergo an investigation by the relevant administrative authorities today. She said, "I plan to sincerely explain our circumstances as they are," and added, "It is painful and deeply hurtful that our marital and family matters have suddenly become the subject of allegations at this time."

Meanwhile, Professor Choi, who joined the Democratic Party as its first recruited talent at the end of last year, is being considered for a proportional representation seat. Although the Democratic Party decided to implement a proportional representation candidate recruitment system starting this year, it plans to recruit the first and second candidates through a restricted recruitment process, allocating the first spot to a female person with disabilities. Professor Choi majored in dance but suffered a spinal cord injury due to an unfortunate accident. After earning a master's degree in social welfare from Seoul Women's University in 2010, she has been active in disability awareness improvement efforts, including serving as the director of the Disability Awareness Improvement Education Center.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.