Hwang Jung Eum has ignited potential legal issues after publicly accusing her husband, former professional golfer Lee Young Don, of infidelity via Instagram last month. The actress posted several photos of Lee Young Don alongside captions insinuating unfaithfulness.
Her responses to comments defending Lee Young Don’s actions included statements like, “Do you think I knew he was a cheater when I met him? I didn’t, and that’s life” and “I’m a thousand times richer than him. By your logic, I’m wealthier, so I should be the one to cheat.”
The legal community has raised concerns that exposing a spouse’s unfaithfulness on social media might constitute defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act. According to Article 70 of the Act, publicly disclosing facts with the intent to slander and tarnish someone’s reputation can lead to up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won (approx. 23,000 USD).
If the allegations shared on Instagram are found to be false, the penalties could be significantly harsher, with up to seven years of imprisonment, a ten-year suspension of qualifications, or a fine of up to 50 million won. In fact, in 2022, a woman was fined 1 million won for sharing texts between her husband and his mistress on her social media.
Even if the infidelity claims are true, the impact on property division is expected to be minimal. A spouse who has committed infidelity but contributed to the accumulation of wealth must still be considered in the asset division.
However, most of Hwang Jung Eum’s assets were acquired before her marriage, classified as her separate property. Separate property refers to assets acquired by one spouse before marriage or in their name after marriage. According to legal precedents, one spouse’s separate property is not subject to division unless the other spouse has contributed to its formation or maintenance, which seems unlikely in this case.
Hwang Jung Eum owns a house in Itaewon, purchased in 2020 for 46.5 billion won, and a building in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, owned under her company’s name, purchased for 62 billion won.
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