She fled her abusive husband with two kids and W3m. A decade later, can she claim a share of his real estate empire?

A woman who fled her abusive husband with their two children and has been living apart from him for 10 years is asking whether she can claim a share of the real estate wealth he built up during their separation — and whether she can still report him for domestic violence and obtain a protective order.

The woman, identified only as A, a woman in her 40s, shared her story Thursday on YTN Radio's legal advice program "Jo In-seop's Counseling Center," saying she left home 10 years ago to escape her husband's violence.

At the time, her husband would routinely hurl abuse and beat her when drunk, and the violence extended to their children as well.

A ultimately fled with only her children's clothes and a bank account holding 3 million won ($2,140), and, too afraid of her husband's retaliation to go to the police, went into hiding at her parents' home and cut off all contact.

The central issue was money.

When she left, one apartment was registered in her husband's name — but A said she had funded more than half the purchase price with savings accumulated before the marriage and had also helped repay the mortgage.

Her husband later used the apartment as collateral to secure a loan and start a business. He then sold the apartment, bought a building and its site, constructed a new building and began collecting rental income, reportedly growing his assets substantially.

Then, recently, the husband contacted A for the first time in 10 years, demanding they reconcile.

When she refused, he reportedly sent abusive and threatening text messages.

"The moment I read those messages, the terror I felt 10 years ago came flooding back," A said, adding that she wanted to know whether she could report her husband for domestic violence and obtain a victim protection order.

She also asked whether the real estate her husband had built up during their separation could be included in a divorce asset division.

Attorney Park Su-min said the Domestic Violence Punishment Act defines family members to include not only current spouses but also former spouses, meaning a legally married spouse living separately is clearly covered.

On the recent abusive and threatening texts, Park added that they "could constitute criminal threats, and if he repeatedly sent messages causing fear or anxiety, that could be recognized as domestic violence."

Park also explained that a victim protection order allows domestic violence victims to apply directly to a family court — bypassing investigative authorities — to obtain protective measures such as a no-contact order. In urgent cases, a temporary protection order can be issued before the main ruling to impose an immediate no-contact restriction.

On the asset division question, Park said property a spouse independently builds up after separation is in principle often excluded from division — but added that the calculus could change if the wife had funded most of the purchase price of the apartment her husband used to grow his wealth.

"If the wife's asset served as collateral to raise business capital, and that capital was the foundation for his subsequent wealth, she can make a strong argument that she provided the basis for the assets formed after the separation," Park said.

Park added that if A can demonstrate a traceable financial chain — from the initial apartment funds through the sale proceeds to the subsequent real estate acquisitions — she could potentially bring a substantial portion of the properties now in her husband's name into the scope of asset division.