Comedian Kim Byung-man's ex-wife accuses him of domestic violence

Comedian Kim Byung-man’s ex-wife has accused him of habitual domestic violence and dishonesty, local news outlet SpoTV News reported on Tuesday.

Comedian Kim Byung-man [NEWS1]

Comedian Kim Byung-man’s ex-wife has accused him of habitual domestic violence and dishonesty, local news outlet SpoTV News reported on Tuesday.

In an interview with the news outlet, Kim's ex-wife said Kim is currently being investigated by the prosecution for domestic violence and that he had habitually abused her during their marriage.

“I didn’t want to bring this up. I tried to keep it buried since he is a celebrity, but my family can’t live a normal life anymore,” Kim’s ex-wife was quoted as saying by SpoTV News.

Kim himself appeared on Channel A’s “Table for 4” in October and revealed that the couple began living apart just one year after their marriage in 2011. Kim said he had asked his ex-wife for a divorce several times but couldn’t proceed due to his ex-wife’s refusal and eventually divorced about a decade after their separation.

His ex-wife refutes these claims, stating that they are "all lies." She said it is a lie that they began living separately a year after their wedding and that they got divorced after 10 years.

Kim’s ex-wife said that the divorce lawsuit came very suddenly and that she was also shocked by Kim’s claims that they had lived separately for over 10 years after their marriage.

“He'd never mentioned the word 'divorce,'" she said in the interview, adding that she had never agreed to living separately due to issues with their relationship. "He just began not coming home due to his busy schedule. Since our daughter was preparing for a college entrance exam back then, he did not want to disturb her studies. He frequently stayed at his manager's house when he finished late."

She continued by saying that she "never thought of it as a separation and had never heard any talk of it." She added, "When he didn’t come home for a while, I just assumed he was busy. But then, out of the blue, a divorce filing arrived."

Comedian Kim Byung-man [KIM BYUNG-MAN]

In 2020, the two eventually parted ways. However, two years after their divorce, on Dec. 23, 2022, Kim filed a legal complaint against his ex-wife, alleging violations under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The allegations included fraud involving computer use, theft, forgery of private documents and the use of forged documents. Approximately two years later, on Sept. 23, 2024, a decision of nonindictment was made.

Kim’s ex-wife also filed a complaint against Kim regarding repeated physical assault and domestic violence during their marriage.

“I was assaulted regularly. I was hit so often that I didn’t realize how serious it was at the time. My daughter also witnessed me being hit four times,” she said.

“He treated me like a princess or a queen when he was in a good mood, so I thought things would be okay if I could just wait until he was calm. But after that, he would become brutally violent.”

Kim’s ex-wife stated that she felt she had no choice but to speak up as misunderstandings around her commitment to the marriage began to grow.

“I tried to protect everything until the end, but after seeing the lies in the lawsuit and his public statements, I couldn’t believe he would go this far,” she said.

“Honestly, it still hurts and upsets me. I think of the good times we had together. We could have parted on better terms,” she added.

Since Kim debuted as a KBS comedian in 2002, he also was a star in “Law of the Jungle” (2011-2021) on SBS.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]