Divorce Specialist Lawyer, Kim Minjae Mentions
"Mutual Divorce Likely Included Financial Consideration"
"Speculation of 50 Billion Won? Impossible Through Trial"
Soccer player Kim Min-jae recently announced his divorce, and a lawyer has provided an analysis regarding the division of assets with his spouse.
On the 4th, Park Kyung-nae, a lawyer, appeared on YTN Radio's 'Attorney Jo In-seop's Counseling Center' and commented on Kim's asset division. Lawyer Park began by saying, "I remember seeing Kim announce his marriage on YouTube, so it's unfortunate to hear about the divorce," and added, "Since I specialize in divorce lawsuits, I was curious whether he hired a lawyer and who it might have been."
He continued, "Kim got married in May 2020 while playing for Beijing Guoan in China, and since then, he has played for Turkey's Fenerbah?e SK, Italy's SSC Napoli, and is currently with Germany's Bayern Munich," adding, "According to foreign media, the total salary he has earned over the past four years amounts to approximately 32.1 billion KRW." He explained, "Alimony is paid as compensation by the party responsible for the breakdown of the marriage, so in principle, living abroad does not justify paying more alimony," but speculated, "Since Kim went through an amicable divorce, I assume there was some financial consideration to avoid litigation."
Furthermore, he explained, "Given Kim's high income, it is likely he accumulated substantial assets, and if his wife’s contributions through household duties, childcare, and support are recognized, she could receive a significant amount in asset division." However, he added, "Because his earnings exceeded the average level, receiving 8 billion KRW might be difficult. As mentioned earlier, the amicable divorce likely influenced this outcome." He emphasized, "In Korean case law, the greater the asset size, the smaller the contribution ratio tends to be. Even if Kim had gone to court, I don't think the figure of 8 billion KRW would have been reached. Since the two agreed amicably, we can only speculate."
Lawyer Park also mentioned Kim’s annual salary of 12 million euros (approximately 17.6 billion KRW) and touched on the assets subject to division. He said, "Money not yet received is excluded from asset division, but future earnings can be considered when assessing contribution." He added, "Some netizens speculated about 50 billion KRW, but that is impossible through litigation. There are cases where high alimony or asset division payments are made based on prior agreements."
Earlier, Kim’s agency Orange Ball announced on the 21st of last month, "After careful discussion, Kim decided to end his marriage and completed the amicable divorce process through mutual agreement." They continued, "The couple decided to divorce due to personality differences and agreed to support each other on their separate paths. We apologize for causing concern with this unfortunate news," and concluded, "He will continue to show better performances on the field." After the news broke, a lawyer stated on a YouTube channel, "Considering they have young children and lived together in China and Europe, the assets might be divided in an 80:20 or 70:30 ratio," and predicted, "Based on this, the ex-wife likely received between 6.4 to 9.6 billion KRW."
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