"Slept 18 to 20 Hours a Day"
"Ran Away From Home for a Day or Up to Ten Days"
Group FT Island's Choi Min-hwan mentioned his divorce from Laboum's Yulhee, citing frequent running away from home and sleep habits as issues.
According to a Dispatch report on the 13th, Choi Min-hwan claimed in an interview that the reason for the divorce was Yulhee's fault. He first stated, "During the five years we lived together, Yulhee ran away from home more than 20 times due to arguments. Sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for a week to ten days," and revealed KakaoTalk messages exchanged with Yulhee.
According to the messages, Choi Min-hwan expressed his frustration to Yulhee, saying, "You sleep too much," to which Yulhee responded, "Who am I living like this for?" At the time, the two were reportedly living with Choi Min-hwan's mother. Through KakaoTalk, Yulhee said, "(Choi Min-hwan) treated me as nothing more and nothing less than a housekeeper," and "Because we fought, he called my mother in the middle of the night and abruptly told her to come get me, which made me angry and I cursed."
Choi Min-hwan continued, "Yulhee sleeps abnormally long hours. Sometimes she sleeps 18 to 20 hours a day, and when I mentioned it, she would get very angry," adding, "During my alternative military service, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., we had a caregiver. After work, I took care of the children." In the KakaoTalk messages released, Choi Min-hwan confided to his manager, "I think this is it for me. I think we will get divorced," and "We fought every day because she only sleeps. I don't understand how she can sleep all day." The manager responded, "Parenting must be hard. You must have taken care of the kids when you weren't around," and "You should buy her some supplements or something. How can you fight? Go pick her up quickly. Divorce is not an option," trying to persuade him.
Eventually, the two agreed in December 2023 not to exchange money, and Choi Min-hwan took custody and parental rights, completing an amicable divorce. However, Yulhee overturned the agreement, claiming "Choi Min-hwan's visits to prostitution establishments were the reason for the divorce." Regarding this, Choi Min-hwan revealed, "The place I went to that day was a karaoke where we held Yulhee's birthday party. The acquaintance I spoke with is someone Yulhee also knows," and added, "Since there were no rooms available at the karaoke, I asked about the shirt room, but there was absolutely no prostitution. However, since it could be misunderstood, I admitted my fault and reflected on it."
Earlier, in October last year, Yulhee claimed Choi Min-hwan's prostitution through YouTube, saying, "There was a big incident about a year before the divorce." In the released phone call recordings, Choi Min-hwan was heard saying to an acquaintance, "They say the girl isn't here today," "Last time, I had to pay 2.3 million won, so send me the account number," and "Can you book a hotel I can go to now? A motel is fine too." About a month later, Yulhee filed a mediation request against Choi Min-hwan for changing custody and claiming alimony and property division.
However, on the 18th of last month, Choi Min-hwan stated through the fan communication platform 'Weverse,' "As reported in the media, I have never engaged in prostitution, and I was cleared due to insufficient evidence," and "How can I prove something I didn't do? That's why I had nothing to say." He added, "The hotel and motel mentioned in the recordings were places I went to because I wanted to be alone at the time," and "I understand that asking you to believe this is hard. It would be good if there was clear evidence, but since there isn't, I apologize."
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