Raised My Child Alone While Working Construction... "Ex-Wife Suddenly Demands Custody"

Mr. A's Story of Raising His Child Alone

"Ex-Wife Demands Payment of Property Settlement with Interest"

A man who raised his son alone for nearly 20 years has expressed his frustration after his ex-wife, who appeared after a long absence, demanded to take the child with her.

On May 29, YTN Radio’s “Consultation Room with Attorney Inseop Cho” featured the story of Mr. A, a father who has been raising his child alone. Mr. A shared, “I got married at 23 to someone my age, and we had a child while our financial situation was not stable. My wife often left the house, saying she was doing hairdressing work when our child was about 100 days old, and in the end, I was responsible for almost all of the childcare.”

Mr. A said that even while working at construction sites from early dawn, he made every effort to care for his child. However, he confessed, “Eventually, both my body and mind reached their limits, and I asked for a divorce.”

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. Pixabay

However, Mr. A’s wife insisted, “You can’t get a divorce unless you give me money.” In the end, Mr. A agreed to a mediated divorce in 2004, under the condition that he would receive both parental authority and custody in exchange for paying 20 million won as a division of property. Mr. A recalled, “At that time, there was no official child support agreement system, and I was so exhausted that I just wanted to finalize the divorce as soon as possible. I still regret that I completed the settlement without a child support agreement.”

The situation became even more difficult after the divorce, as Mr. A had to provide for the family while raising his child alone. He added, “The thought of having to send a large sum of money to someone who never sent any child support made it impossible for me to pay the 20 million won division of property.” After the divorce, he lost all contact with his ex-wife, but several years later, she suddenly reached out to him again. Mr. A said, “My ex-wife told me that she had opened a hair salon and settled down, and now she wants to take the child with her. She also demanded that I pay the division of property immediately, including the accrued interest.”

He lamented, “Whenever my child was sick, I would rush away from the construction site, keeping an eye on my supervisor, and I never missed a single school event. I endured all those years alone, so to hear now that she wants to take the child is unbearably harsh.”

In response, attorney Kim Miru explained, “Even if child support was not specifically determined at the time, as long as less than 10 years have passed since the child became an adult, it is possible to claim both past and future child support.”

However, she added, “Past child support can only be offset against the division of property once a specific amount is determined through a court decision. Since future child support is paid monthly, it is generally difficult to offset it against the division of property.”

Regarding the ex-wife’s demand for custody, she stated, “Parental authority and custody are always decided with the child’s best interests as the top priority. Unless it is recognized that changing the current custody arrangement will benefit the child more, it is not easy to make such a change.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.