Home   >   People   >   Celebrity news anchor finally divorced as court rules in her favor

Celebrity news anchor finally divorced as court rules in her favor

January 13, 2015
Kim Joo-ha (Yonhap)

Kim Joo-ha (Yonhap)

By Ko Dong-hwan

A court on Tuesday ruled in favor of celebrity news anchor Kim Joo-ha, who filed for divorce against her husband of 10 years.

The Seoul Family Court approved her divorce after her husband, Kang Pil-gu, 45, was handed a suspended sentence in October for assaulting the MBC anchor, 42, during an argument.

The court gave custody of their two children to Kim, and ordered Kang to pay alimony.

The divorce becomes effective if neither Kim nor Kang appeals the decision in the next two weeks.

Kim married Kang, who worked for a foreign bank, in 2004.

Kim testified in the domestic violence case that Kang began hitting her frequently in 2008.

Seoul Western District Court sentenced Kang to eight months’ jail, suspended for two years, for assaulting Kim.

Kim then discovered Kang was having an affair.

The court in 2013 ordered Kang to pay Kim 327 million won ($300,000), to which both parties agreed, as compensation for Kang’s infidelity.

Kim built her journalistic career as a television news reporter covering business, global affairs and national news. In 2008, she was tapped to anchor the high-profile “MBC News Desk.”

That same year, online publication Women’s News chose Kim as one of its top 20 inspiring leaders.

In 2009, freshmen from Ewha Womans University in Seoul selected Kim as their top domestic role model.