"My In-Laws Get Silver Spoons, but I Get Wooden Chopsticks"—Eventually Leading to a Divorce Lawsuit [What Do You Think?]

[Financial News] A woman who said she was given wooden chopsticks while everyone else received silver spoons and was left to do the dishes alone during every holiday reportedly ended up filing for divorce after repeated conflicts with her husband.
On the 22nd, attorney Jo In-seop shared the divorce consultation case on the "Billeonbangji Committee" segment of YTN Radio's "News FM: Seulgiroun Radio Saenghwal."
The conflict began during the first holiday they celebrated after getting married. While having a meal with her husband's family, the wife noticed that silver spoons had been placed at the other family members' seats, while only wooden chopsticks had been set in front of her.
She initially thought it was a mistake, but said the same thing happened during the next holiday as well. After the meal, she reportedly had to do the dishes alone while the family watched television in the living room.
The conflict escalated ahead of the third holiday. When the wife asked her husband, "What am I in this family?" he replied, "Everyone lives like that, so stop making a fuss." Later, they stopped at a rest area on their way home. While the wife went to the restroom, her husband drove away alone.
A few days later, the husband demanded that she sign a written pledge. It stated that she had to visit his family during every holiday and that, if she failed to do so, she would not only agree to a divorce but also waive any claim to a division of marital property. The wife signed it to preserve the marriage, but later stopped visiting his family, prompting her husband to file for divorce.
Attorney Jo explained that the provision waiving a division of marital property in the pledge was invalid. He said, "A provision to waive in advance the right to claim a division of marital property that has not yet arisen during the marriage is invalid," adding, "The same applies even if the document was notarized." In the actual trial, the wife filed a counterclaim seeking a division of marital property. Although the amount was not substantial because of the short length of the marriage, she was able to receive a property settlement.
He also explained whether the treatment she received from her husband's family could constitute grounds for divorce. Attorney Jo said that under the Civil Act, receiving seriously unfair treatment from one's spouse or the spouse's lineal ascendant can be grounds for divorce. Wooden chopsticks or being made to do the dishes alone might not be sufficient by themselves, he noted, but the husband's act of leaving his wife at the rest area could be recognized as unfair treatment.


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