Choi Minhwan’s Exposé: Yulhee Neglects Childcare, Demands Money, Constantly Leaves Home

Below is a summary of the events that eventually boiled up to divorce:

August 1, 2021: Yulhee runs away from home

On August 1, 2021, Yulhee left home following an argument about her excessive sleeping.

The couple lived with Choi’s mother. A dispute about naps escalated, and Yulhee insulted Choi with vulgar words in front of his mother. Choi then called Yulhee’s mother to address the situation. Later that night, Yulhee left home with their eldest child and stayed at her parents’ house for 10 days.  

August 10, 2021: Conversation after 9 days 

According to screenshots from Yulhee and Minhwan’s conversation after their fight, Yulhee admitted that she was wrong to curse in front of Minhwan’s mom. The two then argued over whether Yulhee was treated like a servant, and Minhwan complained about Yulhee sleeping all day after her friend visited. 

Choi Minhwan complained about Yulhee’s sleeping habits

In his interview with Dispatch, Choi Minhwan claimed that Yulhee sleeps abnormally long hours, sometimes up to 18–20 hours a day. Then, when he brought it up, she would get angry and leave home, and this happened over 20 times in their five years together. 

“Who could endure this?”, the male idol stated. 

When asked if Yulhee’s excessive sleeping could have been a result to cope with stress, Minhwan responded that they hired a childcare assistant who worked from 9 AM to 4 PM, he took care of the kids after work, and his mom helped with childcare and household chores, including preparing dinner. 

“I never demanded that Yulhee cook or wash dishes”, he added,

Minhwan complained to manager about Yulhee

On August 1, 2021, the day Yulhee left home, Choi Minhwan sent a message to his agency manager.  

According to a screenshot of the conversation, the male idol complained about Yulhee’s sleeping habits and child neglect, saying, “She doesn’t even change a single diaper or care whether the kids have eaten. I’m home every day after work. Honestly, she just sleeps all day.”  

He also added, “I go to work at 8 and come home at 4. The kids nap for four hours during the day. But her sleeping is beyond reasonable—she sleeps 18 hours a day!”  

March 28, 2023: Further lament about Yulhee’s habits

Early that morning, Choi Minhwan texted Yulhee, complaining about how he cannot talk with her and spend time together as she’s always sleeping. Choi explained the situation to Dispatch, saying, “That day, Yulhee just kept sleeping. She didn’t wake up no matter how much I tried.”  

According to Choi, the issue of excessive sleeping caused repetitive conflicts. The cycle went: sleep, waking her up, fighting, and her leaving the house. 

August 25, 2023: Running away for 1 week + Promise 

On August 19, 2023, Yulhee left home. She was gone for about a week and returned late at night on the 26th, intoxicated. She apologized and promised, “I’ll never leave home again”.

According to Minhwan, their family dog, who had been with them for 18 years, passed away. As a result, his mother was devastated, crying uncontrollably.  

Coincidentally, FT ISLAND’s Seoul concert was scheduled for August 26–27. On the day of the concert, just one day after Lotto’s passing, Yulhee returned home after being gone for a week.  

“My mother cried so much she lost her voice. I was overwhelmed preparing for the concert. On top of that, I had to ask my mom to look after the kids. I felt terribly sorry”, he said.  

August 26, 2023: Decision to divorce

Despite Yulhee’s apology and promise to no longer leave home, she went out again at night just 2-3 days later and returned early the next morning. This pattern repeated for several days: going out at night, coming home at dawn, and sleeping during the day.  

As a result, Choi Minhwan decided he could no longer continue their marriage.  

“I know married life wasn’t easy for her. I tried to understand and reconcile with her. But not long after, she left the house again. While I was putting the kids to bed, she was putting on makeup. She’d go out at night and return at 5 or 6 in the morning. Then she’d sleep all day. This kept happening the next day and the day after that”, the male idol recalled.

December 3, 2023: Discussion about divorce

A Kakaotalk conversation between Minhwan and Yulhee regarding the divorce was revealed, in which Minhwan insisted that the two of them are so fundamentally different in personality and lifestyle patterns, but neither of them was going to change.  

In the conversation, Choi Minhwan said that he paid all of Yulhee’s taxes, transferred several tens of millions of won to her account as living expenses, and had been living paycheck to paycheck. 

He also said that Yulhee could even sell his car and use the money for a deposit on a place.  

Yulhee’s counterattack

On December 4, 2023, Yulhee filed a mediation request at the Seoul Family Court, seeking changes to custody and guardianship and other demands. Her requests included a 1 billion won (approx 680,000 USD) property division, a 100 million won alimony (approx. 68,000 USD), custody and guardianship of the children, handover of the children to her, monthly child support payments of 5 million won (approx. 3,400 USD) until May 17, 2037, and 3 million won (approx. 2000 USD) until February 10, 2039, as well as mediation costs to be borne by Choi Min-hwan.  

Yulhee’s claim about entertainment establishment 

In her mediation application, Yulhee wrote, “Choi Minhwan visited establishments involved in prostitution and subjected me to unfair treatment from my in-laws. The marriage broke down entirely due to his fault. He is obligated to compensate for the mental and physical suffering he caused me. The alimony of 100 million won is the minimum amount.” 

Choi Minhwan and Yulhee finalized their divorce on December 8, 2023. At the time of divorce, they had agreed on the terms regarding alimony and property division, deciding neither party would give or receive money. Custody and guardianship of the children were awarded to Choi Minhwan.  

However, a year later, Yulhee reversed her stance, attributing the breakdown of the marriage to his misconduct.  

Choi Minhwan’s rebuttal about entertainment establishment

Choi shared text messages exchanged between the two after their divorce, highlighting Yulhee’s admission that the divorce first stemmed from her issues. 

He also addressed the allegations of visiting establishments involved in prostitution. Choi explained that the place he went to was a karaoke bar where he had previously held a birthday party for Yulhee.  

“It’s not a prostitution establishment. It’s a karaoke bar where I threw Yulhee’s birthday party. A-hyung, whom Yulhee also knows, works there. That night, we couldn’t get a room there, so we looked for other options,” he said.  

He admitted to visiting bars in late 2022 to relieve stress amid growing conflicts over Yulhee’s lifestyle patterns. “I was immature in how I dealt with the problem, but I never engaged in prostitution,” he explained.  

“I never engaged in prostitution. I understand why Yulhee misunderstood. I acknowledged my fault, apologized, and reflected on it”, he said, stressing that his visiting of these establishments was not the reason for their divorce.  

“When we were discussing divorce, this issue never came up. We divorced because we couldn’t bridge the gap in our lifestyles. I don’t understand why she’s suddenly bringing this up as the cause of our separation and demanding alimony”, the male idol recall.

Choi Minhwan refuted in-law mistreatment claims

When Yulhee demanded 100 million won in alimony, citing “unfair treatment from in-laws”,  she provided no specific details.

Choi strongly refuted this claim, calling it “nonsense” and explained, “My parents helped with household chores like laundry and cleaning from the time we had a premarital pregnancy. They even prepared meals and never asked her to do the dishes. After childbirth, they helped with child-rearing”

Dispatch reached out to Yulhee several times for an interview regarding this, but she did not respond.

Choi also expressed his frustration, stating, “We discussed moving out as a couple, but Yulhee said it was better to live with my parents for their support. My parents even gave up the first floor of their house, which they had been living in, so we could move in. We spent an additional 150 million won on renovations because that’s what she wanted. I really want to ask—what was unfair about it?”  

Yulhee’s claim for property division

Yulhee submitted a mediation request to the court, demanding a property division of 1 billion won.

“The assets to be divided include the land and buildings in Seoul’s Gangnam District, as well as deposits and other assets. However, I am not fully aware of Choi Minhwan’s deposit details, so I will specify them later through financial transaction information submission orders”, she stated n her meditation application.

Regarding this, Minhwan explained that he bought the property in 2015, and the costs for land acquisition, demolition, and reconstruction amounted to approximately 2 billion won (approx. 1.36 million USD). The money was sourced from his activities with FT Island, a loan from his parents, and an additional loan of 870 million won (approx. 591,000 USD).

The couple married in 2017. Choi Minhwan stated, “During the process of acquiring the property, building the house, and doing the interior work, not a single penny from Yulhee was involved.”

Choi Minhwan paid the contract penalty for Yulhee

In 2017, Yulhee’s former agency demanded a penalty for disrupting her girl group activities due to her premarital pregnancy and marriage. Choi Minhwan paid a penalty of 125 million won (approx. 85,000 USD)  on her behalf.

In 2019, Choi Minhwan lent 20 million won (approx. 13,500 USD) to Yulhee’s father, as Yulhee had said her father urgently needed it. He has not been repaid.

In 2020-2021, Yulhee earned over 200 million won from commercials (approx 136,000 USD), but she did not pay taxes, using the entire amount. As a result, Choi Minhwan paid her income tax.

In July 2023, Choi Minhwan deposited 50 million won (approx 34,000 USD) into Yulhee’s account, which was their shared living expense account. A month later, the couple agreed on their divorce. He did not get the money back.

In August 2024, Choi Minhwan gave an additional 20 million won, continuing to support her post-divorce living expenses. He told her that she could use it for buying a car or living expenses.

Yulhee’s demand for custody

At the time of their divorce, the couple agreed that Choi Minhwan would have custody and parental rights. However, a year later, Yulhee argued that she had always been the main custodian of the children, both in the past and present.

She claimed that Choi Minhwan spends long periods abroad and is not able to care for the children and that she has been the one practically raising the children.

However, Choi Minhwan rejected this claim, calling it “ridiculous.”

“In September 2023, we started living separately. In the year and three months since then, I have met with the children 15 times. When I send them to Yulhee, I pack their clothes and other belongings in a suitcase. How can Yulhee claim she is the primary caregiver?”, the male idol said, adding, “I take them to kindergarten. Even during overseas performances, I have never missed responding to their kindergarten notes. When I’m not around, my mother takes them to and from school. I don’t understand why she suddenly claims to be the main caregiver.” 

Meanwhile, Dispatch made multiple attempts to contact Yulhee for her side of the story but received no response. Therefore, this report is written based on the mediation request and public statements made by Yulhee.