Man, mistress shack up below ex-wife's apartment to pressure her to sell home, TV program alleges

The story of a man who moved into an apartment directly below his ex-wife with his mistress, apparently in an attempt to persuade his former spouse to sell their jointly owned apartment, has gone viral.

Close up of a court mallet [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

Affairs caught on the dashcam. Humiliating public displays of affection. Embarrassing rumors.

The story of a man who moved into an apartment directly below his ex-wife with his mistress, apparently in an attempt to persuade his former spouse to sell their jointly owned apartment, has gone viral.

The wife discovered the affair three years earlier through her car’s dashcam, according to Wednesday’s episode of the JTBC TV show “Scandal Supervisor” (2014–). Her then-husband had borrowed the vehicle, called in sick from work and driven to the seaside with another woman, according to the show.

The couple eventually divorced under the condition that their jointly owned apartment remain in both names. The woman stayed on the second floor with their daughter and began receiving part of the rent in lieu of child support.

Later, the wife signed a lease for the first floor of the apartment without meeting the person face-to-face, who later turned out to be her ex-husband's lover. She had no idea it was the mistress, because apparently she had changed her name after the couple's divorce.

The man moved into the first floor with his former mistress, now his paramour, with the couple showing open displays of affection in an apparent attempt to "rub it in his ex-wife's face."

“The couple often kept the door open, played badminton in the parking lot and laughed loudly when I passed,” the mother said. “Neighbors began to gossip, and my daughter grew embarrassed after classmates spotted her father at the building.”

The ex-husband also pressured the daughter to “support his new beginning,” raising his voice when she resisted, according to the mother,

But her husband appeared to have other intentions. The mother said he wanted to make her life unbearable so she would agree to sell the apartment, though she believed selling would not bring in as much money as collecting rent.

She said he went so far as to file a lawsuit to divide the jointly owned property and worried about the possibility of it being auctioned off.

Attorney Park Ji-hoon said during the show that such disputes typically end either in mediation or in a court judgment, the latter carrying the risk of an auction.

“Don’t panic, but just focus on the proceedings,” Park said.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]