This image is not related to the article. [123RF]
This image is not related to the article. [123RF]

A woman who confronted her husband over suspicious parking records was told he had merely walked a drunk female fitness trainer to her room — and was warned not to accuse him of infidelity without proof, according to a case shared with a legal advice program.

The woman wanted to know whether she could pursue divorce and file a damages claim against the third party even without definitive evidence.

The case was introduced Sunday on YTN Radio's "Jo In-seop's Legal Clinic." The woman, identified only as A, said she and her husband are in their seventh year of marriage and have a 6-year-old son.

Her husband, who had previously been on the heavier side, began going to the gym and overhauled his appearance — cutting out alcohol and late-night snacks.

"At some point he seemed to gain a new confidence," A said. "He started collecting cologne he never used to glance at, spent time styling his hair every morning, and began paying attention to how he dressed."

She then discovered something troubling. "One day I happened to check my husband's parking records. It was a day he said he was going to the gym, but his car had been parked at a hotel far from home," she said. "I found it strange and checked other records — there were several more instances of him parking in similar locations."

When she pressed him, he initially claimed he had met a business contact, but eventually admitted he had been with a female trainer. "He said they had a drink after working out and talked through each other's worries. He said he had gone inside to walk the drunk trainer home and swore to heaven that nothing more had happened," A said.

A added that the trainer followed her husband on social media and exchanged messages with him. "My husband's social media has many photos of me and our son, so she would have known he was married," she said. "My husband says there is no evidence, so I should not accuse him of infidelity. Do I really need clear-cut proof to file for divorce or seek damages from the third party?"

'Text messages, entry records, vehicle logs all weighed together'

Im Hyeong-chang, an attorney at Shinsegae Law Firm who reviewed the case, said the husband's explanation was a familiar one. "In practice, many people offer excuses like 'I just laid them down on the bed because they were drunk and left right away' or 'we just lay there talking,'" he said. "Frankly, from a third party's perspective, that does not look convincing."

Im said the circumstances already pointed to a relationship that had gone beyond a simple trainer-client dynamic. "The husband and the trainer repeatedly met in person outside of exercise sessions and entered a hotel together after drinking," he said. "If additional details are confirmed — such as affectionate messages exchanged between the two, repeated late-night meetings, or trips taken together — the likelihood of infidelity being recognized increases further."

Im explained how such cases are typically assessed. "In third-party infidelity cases, courts generally weigh multiple indirect facts together — the content of text messages, lodging entry records, vehicle logs, evidence of shared travel, card transaction histories, photographs and the like," he said. "Rather than searching for a single decisive piece of evidence, it would be better for the person in this situation to organize all the materials she can lawfully obtain in chronological order and show what the overall relationship looked like."

On the question of the trainer's liability, Im said a damages claim was a realistic option. "If a third party knew the other person was married and still engaged in conduct that infringed on the marital relationship, a damages claim against that third party is in principle available," he said. "It seems quite difficult for the trainer to argue she did not know about the marriage. However, if the couple had already been separated for an extended period before the relationship with the trainer began — to the point where the marriage was objectively and irreparably broken down — the trainer's liability for damages may not be recognized."


yul@heraldcorp.com