“Married While Hiding the Lover She’d Lived With for 10 Years”... Lee Kye-in Opens Up About the Wound of a “Fraudulent Marriage”

[Financial News] Actor Lee Kye-in, 74, opened up about the intense sense of betrayal and the lasting wounds he suffered after his former wife, with whom he had been in a common-law marriage, deceived him in a marriage fraud scheme more than 30 years ago.
Lee Kye-in recently appeared on the YouTube channel Geurigura’s “Kim Gu-ra Economic Research Institute.” While discussing how he bought his first home and later sold the property, he recalled the full story behind the breakdown of his first marriage, which made headlines in 1992.
He bought an apartment in Yongsan, Seoul, across from the 63 Building, and set it up as his newlywed home. Explaining why he had to sell it not long afterward, he said, “I can’t talk about the past without bringing this up. After going through something like that, I couldn’t stand the house itself and wanted to get rid of it quickly.”
The story dates back to 1992. At the time, Lee held a wedding ceremony with a woman and began living with her as a married couple in a common-law relationship. But shortly after the wedding, the shocking truth came to light: his wife had another lover, with whom she had been living for more than 10 years. It was a classic case of marriage fraud: she pursued marriage with Lee while continuing her relationship with her lover.
Lee recalled how he put off registering the marriage because he trusted only what his then-wife told him, and spoke about his conflicted feelings. “I was incredibly busy, juggling four dramas at the time, but my then-wife said, ‘Why are you in such a hurry? Let’s register the marriage later.’ I believed her and put it off,” he said.
As it turned out, not having legally registered the marriage helped him avoid major financial losses. But because no legal marital relationship had been established, it was difficult to pursue criminal accountability, and that remained a long-standing grievance.
Lee said, “If I had legally registered the marriage, they would have ended up in handcuffs. I was incredibly fortunate to protect my assets, but my anger over not being able to see them properly punished under the law hasn’t easily subsided.”
Host Kim Gu-ra offered comfort, mentioning his own divorce and saying, “Married life can fail, and as time passes, can’t you get past it with a wry smile?” But Lee firmly drew a line. “A marriage can fail. But being defrauded and a marriage failing are completely different things,” he said, emphasizing, “No matter how many years have passed, this is something I can never laugh off.”
Lee sold the Yongsan home, which had caused him great distress, and moved to an apartment near MBC in Yeouido in an effort to regain his composure. He later remarried in 1997, to a woman 10 years his junior, but that marriage also ended in separation. Last year, he revealed on a television program that he had married for a third time.
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter