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A man in his 40s is weighing whether to divorce his wife after she had an affair with a regular customer at their restaurant and returned home having taken out loans to pay off the man's debts.
The story was shared on JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," a program covering real-life disputes and legal cases.
The man, identified only as A, said he and his wife, two years his junior, have run a traditional Korean home-style restaurant together for seven years. With no children, the two were each other's only family.
The restaurant built a loyal following through word of mouth among workers at nearby factories. One regular, a man identified as B — one year older than A — grew close enough to the couple that the three would occasionally drink together.
What began as a friendly acquaintance gradually deepened between B and A's wife. When the three walked together, B would steer A's wife to the inside of the sidewalk, away from traffic. On one occasion at a bar, B sat beside her and wiped something from her lips with his hand.
A said he eventually sensed something was wrong and confronted his wife, but by then the affair had already progressed considerably.
His wife began staying out overnight without a word, and eventually told him she was going out "to get some air for a few days" — then disappeared with B.
She returned two months later, admitted to the affair and pleaded for forgiveness, promising it would never happen again. A said he felt sorry for his wife, who had visibly lost weight, and decided to forgive her. Then he discovered she had also taken on B's debts.
His wife told him that B had quit his factory job the day she left and that she had covered all their living expenses for the two months they were together. She also revealed that B had a poor credit rating and that she had taken out loans to pay off part of his debt. "I kept pouring water into a bottomless jar and only came to my senses too late — I barely managed to escape," she said, adding, "I think I temporarily lost my mind."
A said he had been inclined to forgive his wife, but watching her repay the loans fills him with unease and anger. "When I see her paying it back, I can't help thinking I'm using my own money to pay off the man she cheated with," he said.
Attorney Son Su-ho said A would naturally want the money back from B, but that there was no legal basis to recover it. "This was not fraud or extortion, so the funds cannot be reclaimed," he said. He added that A could indirectly pursue damages through a civil lawsuit or seek a settlement, but that either path would be difficult given that he had already forgiven his wife.
choigo@heraldcorp.com
