'Husband Who Is a Nurse Working Three Shifts,' Busy?
Wife Placed a Recorder in the Car to Collect Evidence
"Can Third-Party Recordings Be Used as Evidence in a Lawsuit?"
A story has been shared about a woman who discovered her husband's affair through his car's black box. She sought advice on whether conversations recorded by a third party could be used as evidence in a civil lawsuit.
On the 8th, YTN Radio's "Attorney Jo Inseop's Counseling Center" featured the story of wife A, who found out about her husband's affair and is preparing to file a lawsuit against the third party. A, a mother of two and a teacher, began by saying, "I have been married to my husband, a nurse at a general hospital, for almost 15 years." She explained, "My husband works in three shifts, and recently, with an increase in emergency duties, his off-duty hours became irregular. A few days ago, when there was a problem with the car we shared, I checked the black box and discovered a shocking fact."
The black box contained evidence of her husband's affair. It recorded her husband talking on the phone with a woman, calling each other pet names and expressing affection such as "I love you." The woman is presumed to be a nurse dispatched from another general hospital, where they met during her assignment. A said, "The car's navigation records also showed that general hospital," adding, "I felt so betrayed and resentful, but I first secured the evidence and tried to gather more by checking the black box again a few days later."
However, from that point on, her husband appeared to have turned off the black box. The navigation records were also deleted. A said, "I had no choice but to secretly place a voice recorder in the car to capture additional conversations between my husband and the other woman. Can all this collected evidence be used?" She added, "Since my child is young, I don't want a divorce, but can I proceed only with a lawsuit against the third party? Also, I wonder if it is possible to prevent the third party from claiming subrogation rights against my husband in this case."
"Conversations recorded by a third party cannot be used as evidence under the Protection of Communications Secrets Act"
Attorney Shin Jinhee of Shinsegye Law Firm explained, "Conversations recorded on a vehicle's black box do not violate the Protection of Communications Secrets Act and can be used as evidence in civil lawsuits. However, if conversations are recorded using a voice recorder installed in the vehicle, such recordings made by a third party cannot be used as evidence under the Protection of Communications Secrets Act." She continued, "There may be concerns about whether a claim for subrogation rights against the husband could arise when filing a damages lawsuit against the third party. In this case, A can request the court to order the third party to pay only the portion of the mental damages corresponding to their share of liability, rather than the entire amount of damages A suffered."
Netizens who read the story expressed various reactions such as, "The wife is so pitiful," "The government should legalize gathering evidence of affairs," "May all cheaters be punished," "The sense of betrayal and loss must have been immense," "Affairs are beyond human control. Forget everything and start anew," "I want to see the husband's face," "Isn't the Protection of Communications Secrets Act a law for affair couples?" "Why not get a divorce?" "Don't just catch the third party, catch the husband first," and more.
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