Man Who Took Car Given to Ex After Meeting Another Man...

Is a Husband Who Took His Common-Law Spouse's Car Subject to Theft Charges?

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A story has emerged about a woman whose ex-husband, from whom she had separated after maintaining a de facto marriage, secretly took her car.

On the 22nd, YTN Radio's "Attorney Jo In-seop's Counseling Center" introduced the story of Ms. A, who, after breaking up with her de facto husband, received a car registered under his name as part of a property division.

Ms. A explained, "When my husband and I ended our de facto marriage, he gave me the car under the pretext of property division. Since then, I have continuously driven the vehicle. Because our relationship was on and off, I kept postponing the transfer of the car's registration."

However, Mr. B, upon hearing that Ms. A was seeing a younger man, secretly called a locksmith and took the car away, accusing her of infidelity.

Ms. A said, "Although I have not been able to change the registration, I have been managing and driving the car continuously, so I want to raise an issue with my ex-husband's actions." She added, "My ex-husband claims that since he is the registered owner, taking the car is not a problem. Can I file a theft charge against him?"

Attorney Kim Gyuri stated, "If it can be proven that Ms. A received the car as a gift from Mr. B and has been continuously driving it, and that the ownership was transferred under the premise of property division, then Mr. B's act constitutes theft." She also explained, "Even in the case of a 'spouse,' the Constitutional Court recently ruled the kinship theft law (Chinwoksangdorye) unconstitutional, so prosecution is now possible."

The Constitutional Court recently issued a ruling of "suspension of application due to unconstitutionality" regarding the kinship theft law. Therefore, although theft between spouses could not be prosecuted before, it is now possible.