A Daughter-in-Law Decides to Divorce Due to Sister-in-Law's Verbal Abuse: "I Want Alimony from My Sister-in-Law"

"Factually Proven, Alimony Claim Possible Against Sister-in-Law"

A story has been shared about a woman who decided to get a divorce after her sister-in-law threw a side dish container and verbally abused her when she simply asked for help with holiday food preparation.

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On the 5th, YTN Radio's "Attorney Jo In-seop's Counseling Center" featured the story of a woman, Ms. A, who is preparing for divorce due to her sister-in-law's violent behavior. Ms. A married her husband, who runs a traditional Korean restaurant (hansikjip) that has been passed down for two generations, 15 years ago and helped with the business. The couple lived with the husband's parents and sister-in-law, Ms. B. It was reported that Ms. B harbored dissatisfaction regarding inheriting the restaurant and lived without working, receiving an allowance. Ms. A took care of Ms. B for 10 years, doing laundry and preparing meals for her while working at the restaurant. Reflecting on that time, Ms. A explained, "It was tough, but I took on even the trivial tasks because I was grateful that my sister-in-law looked after our child."

However, the problem arose during a holiday. After the parents-in-law stepped back from the restaurant, Ms. A became busier running the business and asked Ms. B to help prepare the holiday ancestral rites food. Ms. B refused, telling her to ask the parents-in-law. Ms. A said, "How could my mother-in-law, who has mobility difficulties, prepare the ritual food?" and added, "I felt it was too much, so I spoke up." In response, Ms. B threw a side dish container from the refrigerator at Ms. A and verbally abused her. For the following month, Ms. B showed discomfort by not speaking to Ms. A. Ms. A's husband and parents-in-law told Ms. B to apologize, saying "losing is winning." Witnessing this, Ms. A decided to get a divorce despite her husband's opposition. She appealed, "I want to receive alimony from Ms. B. I decided to divorce because of Ms. B, not my husband. Is that possible?"

Attorney Lee Chae-won from Shinsegye Law Firm commented, "Conflicts with a collateral relative like a sister-in-law are not explicitly listed as grounds for divorce under our Civil Act, but a divorce lawsuit can be filed under Article 840, Clause 6 of the Civil Act, which covers 'other serious reasons making it difficult to continue the marriage.' If it is argued and proven with evidence that the sister-in-law's behavior led to the breakdown of the marriage, the court can recognize the facts and grant a divorce judgment."

Regarding whether Ms. A's situation qualifies as a 'serious reason making it difficult to continue the marriage,' the attorney cited cases where courts recognized alimony claims against a sister-in-law, including ▲ when the sister-in-law sent extremely abusive language and various threatening messages to the wife ▲ when the sister-in-law continuously insulted and defamed the wife's family of origin ▲ when excessive interference beyond reasonable limits made it impossible to continue the marriage ▲ and when the wife's mental health deteriorated to the point of requiring psychiatric treatment due to the sister-in-law's behavior.

Attorney Lee also emphasized the importance of collecting evidence. He advised, "It is good to record any unfair treatment by audio or keep records by sending messages reporting the day's events to the husband or the wife's family. Writing a diary or taking photos or videos is also helpful." He added, "If you did not record the scene where the sister-in-law threw the side dish container and got angry, you could call the sister-in-law as a witness to testify. However, recently, some courts have stated they do not accept witness applications regarding grounds for marital breakdown. Therefore, it is important to keep detailed records whenever you experience unfair or unjust situations."

In response to the question from the story's subject, the attorney said, "If the court recognizes that the spouse suffered mental or physical distress due to conflicts with the sister-in-law, it acknowledges that compensation can be claimed not only from the husband but also from the sister-in-law through alimony claims. If the husband did not actively mediate the conflict with the sister-in-law, this can also be considered when calculating alimony."

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