'My husband gave me 400,000 won a month — then hit me': Woman who worked factories and markets seeks divorce after 30 years

A woman who worked factory night shifts and part-time jobs at supermarkets and restaurants to raise two children — while receiving just 400,000 won ($299) a month in household expenses from her husband — has shared her story as she considers divorce after three decades of marriage.

The case was introduced Wednesday on YTN Radio's legal advice program "Jo In-seop Attorney's Consultation." The woman, identified only as A, said she spent 30 years managing the household, raising children and caring for her mother-in-law, yet the only assets in her name were a few million won in a bank account. Her husband, by contrast, held multiple homes and commercial properties in his name. Having decided to seek a divorce, A asked whether she could claim a share of those assets.

"Even now I sometimes resent the neighborhood grandmother who introduced us," A said. Pushed into an arranged meeting and marriage by her parents and local elders who felt she was of marrying age, she received just 400,000 won a month from her husband for household expenses.

"That was not enough to raise the children, so I worked night shifts at a factory and also took jobs at supermarkets, restaurants and care facilities," she said. "The allowance only went up to 800,000 won well after 20 years of marriage."

She also cared for her mother-in-law, who had suffered a stroke, for nearly seven years. Throughout that time, her husband subjected her and the children to verbal abuse and physical violence. On one occasion, a pot he threw struck her head and left her bleeding.

A eventually left the home with her children. Fearing her husband would track her down, she did not register her new address and stayed hidden. Six years passed.

When she finally looked into filing for divorce, she found that the only assets in her name amounted to a few million won in savings. Her husband's name, meanwhile, was on multiple homes and commercial properties — some of which had already been transferred to other people or sold off.

"I spent 30 years keeping house, raising children and nursing my mother-in-law, and I have nothing to show for it," A said. "I want to know whether I can still receive a share of the marital assets even though almost nothing is in my name, and whether there is a way to proceed with divorce proceedings without disclosing my address to my husband."

Attorney Kim Su-jin of Shinsegae Law said the husband's failure to provide adequate living expenses constituted a breach of his duty to support his family.

She said that for a divorce petition based solely on inadequate living expenses to succeed, a court would need to find that the amount was significantly insufficient relative to the husband's financial means, that the situation persisted over a long period, and that the marriage had broken down beyond repair. "If verbal abuse and assault are also alleged, the chances of the divorce petition being accepted increase considerably," Kim said.

On the question of asset division, Kim said A could claim a share of the marital estate if she had taken on all household and childcare duties and contributed to the preservation and growth of her husband's assets.

"She did not merely perform domestic labor — she also earned income herself to cover the living expenses her husband refused to provide, which can be assessed as a direct contribution to the formation of marital assets," Kim said. "Taking together the roughly 30-year marriage, her role as a full-time homemaker handling housework, childcare and care of her in-laws, and her own earned income supplementing household finances, her contribution could be assessed as quite substantial. In practice, courts often recognize a contribution rate of around 50 percent in long-term marriages."

Kim added that even assets transferred to third parties could still be subject to division if the transfers were nominally held on the husband's behalf. "If the husband transferred or gifted assets to a third party for the purpose of evading a property division order, it is possible to file a claim to revoke the fraudulent transfer and seek restoration — and that claim can be filed together with the divorce suit in family court," she said.