[123RF]
[123RF]

A woman whose husband was diagnosed with mild dementia has sought legal advice after he fell victim to a romance scam and began transferring their life savings to a stranger, leaving her to consider divorce.

The woman, identified only as A, shared her story Tuesday on YTN Radio's "Attorney Jo In-seop's Consultation." She said her husband had long been a reliable partner. "My husband was an upstanding man," she said. "He treated me well from when we were dating, and after we married he was a warm husband and a dependable father."

She added that he had been a diligent worker throughout his career. "He finished his working life more faithfully than anyone," she said. "He had just retired and was about to spend the second half of his life in a more meaningful way — but things changed when he was recently diagnosed with mild dementia."

A said her husband's judgment had visibly deteriorated. "He started using SNS on his smartphone and was deceived by a stranger into falling for a romance scam," she said.

"The other person approached my husband with all kinds of sweet lies, and he believed every word," she said. "He is still sending large sums of money, and the assets we spent a lifetime building are disappearing fast. I haven't even been able to tell our children."

"I can no longer just stand by and watch," she said. "I'm worried about how much more money will drain away if his cognitive function declines further, and it's becoming harder for me to stop him on my own. I want to know whether I can divorce under these circumstances, and whether I can protect what remains of our assets through a property settlement."

Attorney Kim Ji-yeon said both a mutual-consent divorce and a court-ordered divorce were possible, provided the husband had not completely lost his legal capacity to make decisions. "The husband's behavior of squandering assets through a romance scam could constitute grounds under Article 840, Clause 6 of the Civil Act — other serious reasons making it difficult to continue the marriage — and divorce can be sought on that basis," Kim said.

However, Kim noted that because the husband had not lost his legal capacity entirely, it would be difficult to immediately challenge the asset transfers as void.

"To prevent further asset losses, measures such as provisional seizure or provisional disposition can be considered alongside divorce proceedings," Kim said. "Depending on the degree of diminished judgment, a limited guardianship or specific guardianship regime may also be available." She added that assets already lost to the scam could be taken into account during property division, depending on the circumstances.

Kim also said it was worth exploring whether to demand the return of money sent to the scammer, seek damages, or file a criminal complaint on grounds of fraud. "However, romance scam perpetrators typically operate from overseas and use platforms such as Telegram that are difficult to trace through investigation, so such measures are often of limited practical effect," she said.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com