This photo is unrelated to the article. [123rf]
This photo is unrelated to the article. [123rf]

A woman is seeking a divorce after her husband, who served prison time for drunk driving, resumed drinking the moment he was released.

On Monday's broadcast of YTN Radio's "Jo In-seop's Legal Consultation," a woman identified only as A said she had grown up hearing warnings from elders never to date a man who drinks heavily — advice she ultimately could not follow. "Life doesn't always go the way you plan," she said, introducing her story about her alcoholic husband.

Her husband works as a salesman at a large conglomerate and has long had a fondness for alcohol, frequently drinking as part of his job.

After the couple married and had a child, he told A one day that he had suddenly been assigned to a long-term business trip. It was a lie. He had been detained for drunk driving. A said she only then learned that her husband had multiple prior convictions for alcohol-related offenses dating back before their marriage. "He had already received fines and a suspended sentence, and ultimately got behind the wheel again and ended up serving actual prison time — and he hid all of it from me," she said.

A said friends and family urged her to leave him, but she decided to give him another chance for the sake of their child. She raised the baby alone for a year and supported him throughout his incarceration.

The day he was released, however, A said she understood the saying that people cannot truly change. Her husband went straight from prison to meet friends and drink again. She took the child and left for her parents' home without looking back.

Making matters worse, an acquaintance of A's spotted the husband — who had been begging her forgiveness daily — bringing another woman home while drunk.

A asked for legal advice on whether she could restrict her husband's visitation rights, whether he could waive parental custody, and whether she could claim a division of the jeonse deposit.

Attorney Im Gyeong-mi of Shinsegae Law Firm said that failing to disclose prior drunk-driving convictions before marriage alone would not constitute grounds for a consolation payment claim. However, she added, "if the husband served time during the marriage due to his drinking, leaving his wife to endure the hardship of raising a child and maintaining the household alone, and then continued drinking without remorse after his release, he could be found responsible for the breakdown of the marriage and a consolation payment could be recognized."

Im further noted that "bringing another woman into the home while still married carries an even greater degree of fault."

On the question of restricting visitation and custody, Im said that a drinking habit alone does not automatically disqualify someone from parental rights. Nevertheless, she said, "since A has been the primary caregiver throughout the husband's incarceration and the child is still young, the stability A has built with the child would take priority — it appears likely that A would be granted custody, and she would have the advantage in any future custody dispute as well."

Regarding the division of assets, Im explained that A "absolutely can file for a division of property, since she single-handedly maintained the household and raised the child during her husband's absence — and given that she will continue raising the child after the divorce, a property division claim is both necessary and possible to ensure a stable lifestyle."


jshan@heraldcorp.com