Surviving on Cup Noodles in a Tiny Studio, Sent 800 Million Won... "Wife Enjoyed Parties and Golf"

Legal Expert: "Most of the Money Was Used for Living Expenses... No Grounds for Return"

"Likely to Have an Advantage in Asset Division Ratio"

A story has emerged about a husband who sent a large sum of money overseas to his family for ten years, surviving on instant cup noodles, only to decide on divorce after discovering that his wife had been living a life of luxury. According to a legal expert, while it may be difficult for him to recover the money he sent, he is likely to be favored in the division of assets.

On May 8, YTN Radio’s "Attorney Inseop Cho’s Counseling Center" featured the story of Mr. A, a man in his 50s who has worked as a sales manager at a pharmaceutical company for over 20 years.

After sending his daughter to study in the United States, Mr. A lived as a so-called “goose father” for the past ten years. His wife accompanied their daughter to the US to care for her. Mr. A explained, “I saved as much money as possible by making do with simple meals in a small studio apartment, and I sent most of my earnings to my wife.” He added, “The total amount I sent over the past ten years must have been at least 700 to 800 million won.”

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. Pixabay

Mr. A believed it was only natural for him to sacrifice for his family. However, his feelings changed after he happened to see his wife’s social media account. “My wife was enjoying glamorous parties and taking golf lessons in the US,” he said. “While I was barely getting by on cup noodles in a tiny studio like a goshiwon, my wife was living lavishly with the money I sent her. My life over the past years felt so empty,” he lamented.

Later, their daughter entered an American university, and Mr. A asked his wife to come back to Korea. However, she kept repeating that she would “think about it.” By then, she had purchased a small house in the US with the money Mr. A had sent. Mr. A planned to quit his job and move to the US, but his wife responded by telling him that America is not an easy place to live and that he should keep earning money in Korea until retirement.

Mr. A said, “I felt like I had become nothing more than a money-making machine for the family. When I occasionally visited the US, my daughter saw me as a stranger, and I could not be part of the conversations about their life in America. Rather than continue living like this, I want to separate and reclaim the rest of my life. Is there any way to be compensated for ten years of sacrifice and hardship?”

However, the legal expert replied that it would be difficult to recover the money he had already sent. Attorney Junheon Lee of Shinsegye-ro Law Firm explained, “While some of the money was spent on your wife’s hobbies, most of it went to living expenses or education costs. Since it was spent for ordinary household maintenance, you cannot assume this money still exists, nor can it be included in the division of assets. There is no legal basis to claim the return of only that particular money.”

However, if asset division takes place, Mr. A is expected to be at an advantage in terms of contribution. Attorney Lee noted, “When determining the ratio for asset division, the main question is whose income primarily formed the assets. Since the wife did not have significant income in the US and Mr. A sent all his earnings to her, keeping only the bare minimum for himself, Mr. A is actually at an advantage.”

He added, “It is difficult to receive alimony simply for being lonely. However, if the wife refuses to return to Korea without just cause after their daughter entered university, and insists that Mr. A only send money while rejecting his plans to come to the US, the situation changes. In that case, it may be possible to claim that it constitutes ‘malicious abandonment’ under Article 840, Clause 2 of the Civil Act, or ‘other grave cause making it difficult to continue the marriage’ under Clause 6.”

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