Revealed: Years of Hidden Bonuses and Incentives
Wife Says, "The Trust Built Over the Years Has Been Completely Shattered"
A story of a woman who discovered her husband's hidden performance bonuses while on parental leave and felt betrayed has resonated with many online users.
On December 26, an anonymous post titled "My husband lied about his salary" appeared on the workplace community Blind. The author, Ms. A, explained that she was on parental leave after giving birth, while her husband was working from home part-time.
Ms. A stated that theirs is a single-income household, with over 2 million won spent every month just on loan interest and other fixed expenses. On top of this, childcare costs made it difficult to make ends meet, and her husband was fully aware of their financial situation.
One day, Ms. A happened to see her husband's payroll statement on his company's HR system, which was open on their computer. Through this, she discovered for the first time that her husband had been receiving performance bonuses.
Ms. A said, "In July alone, he received about 6 million won as a performance bonus," and added, "During the year-end tax settlement season, he claimed that over 2 million won was deducted for taxes and sent no money for living expenses, saying his salary was low. In reality, he was receiving much more money, including bonuses and incentives." According to what she found, her husband had received performance bonuses and year-end bonuses almost every year for the past three years. She lamented, "Just the bonuses and incentives my husband used without telling me over the past two years amount to more than 15 million won."
After much deliberation, Ms. A confronted her husband, but his reaction was unexpected. He expressed displeasure, asking, "Why are you looking at that?" and said, "Men need to have a certain amount of cash on hand." He explained that part of the bonus was used to repay 2 million won borrowed from his younger sister when they bought their apartment after marriage, and the rest was either saved or used for personal expenses.
When Ms. A raised the issue of spending such a large sum without discussing it, her husband tried to downplay the situation, saying, "I was going to buy you a birthday present," and "Most men do the same."
Ms. A said, "Since having our child, I try to save even a few thousand won by shopping during sales. Even though he knew I had to withdraw money from our child's account due to lack of cash, he hid the entire bonus without sending even 100 won, which is the most shocking part." She added, "I have no idea where he spent the money or how much he has saved. The trust I built over the years has been completely shattered."
Readers who came across the story commented, "The biggest problem is the broken trust," "The amount is too large to be considered just emergency funds," and "He should be required to clearly explain how the money was used." Some even strongly pointed out, "This could be grounds for divorce."
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