Civic group members stage a rally in front of the National Assembly, Seoul on Oct. 8, 2018 to protest against deadbeat dads. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 9 (Korea Bizwire) — ‘Bad Fathers’ is a website well-known for exposing the names and pictures of men failing to provide child support after divorce.
The website recently faced a complaint that exposing an individual’s personal information solely upon reports from a person with child custody, without proper review of the intent to pay for child rearing expenses and the individual’s current financial situation, was unfair.
A man living with a widowed mother after divorcing in May of last year found his name and picture on Bad Fathers.
The man has been claiming that, without any proper source of income after quitting his job due to health issues, he has borrowed more than 100 million won (US$84,000) to cover child support as well as alimony.
Upon divorce, the court ordered the man to pay 800,000 won each month to his ex-wife and alimony of 25 million won.
The man, without any source of income, paid between 1 million and 2 million won each month for alimony, and delivered his intent to send an additional 800,000 won every month in child support.
Following his divorce, the man sent 800,000 won in child support for June and July last year. Between August and February of this year, the man paid 767,740 won every month in addition to the general insurance fee for the child.
The man, however, failed to provide child support for three months between March and May. The ex-wife confiscated all of the man’s bankbooks on March 15 after claiming that alimony hadn’t been paid, the man explained.
For failing to provide child support for the previous three months, Bad Fathers exposed his personal information on the website, the man claimed.
“We first collect court rulings and documentation on child support, and look into bank statements to see if the expenses have been paid. If payments haven’t been made, a prior notification is sent to the person before his personal information is posted on the website,” said Koo Bon-chang, head of Bad Fathers.
“We sent a prior notification to the man, who failed to come to terms with his ex-wife. That is why we posted his information on the website.”
“Both parties may have their versions of events, but exposing one’s personal information just because the man didn’t pay child support for three months amounts to unfair treatment,” said attorney Roh Yeong-hee.
“Arbitrary exposure of personal information can drive a person into a more difficult situation, hindering the person’s effort to provide child support.”
Bad Fathers is also facing allegations that it exposed personal information after making one or two failed attempts to contact the person in question, without offering any chance of defense.
“A poor father is not necessarily a bad father. Making arbitrary decisions without considering the person’s financial situation is inappropriate,” said the attorney.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
