"Not an affair"... Bae Myung-ho discloses child support payment records through early this year [Full text]

*This content was translated by AI.

MMA fighter Bae Myung-ho recently clarified misunderstandings surrounding him by disclosing payment records up to the beginning of this year after it was revealed by his ex-wife that he had failed to pay child support. According to the disclosed records, child support was paid through February this year, and any unpaid amounts have been fully settled subsequently.

Baek Myung-ho said on the 24th, "First, I sincerely apologize for causing fatigue and inconvenience to many people due to a highly private matter. I believed this issue should be resolved between the parties involved, so I intended to resolve it quietly through established procedures rather than through public statements. However, my one-sided statement made me appear as someone who abandoned his children by not paying child support, and further led to situations where content differing from actual facts was portrayed as truth. Therefore, I would like to convey more clear information."

Baek Myung-ho stated, "I will begin with the child support portion. During the consensual divorce process, it was determined that child support would be 3 million won per month until the end of 2025 and 1.5 million won per month starting in 2026. Separately, at the request of my former spouse during the divorce proceedings, I also voluntarily assumed additional costs for remaining rent, car installments, insurance premiums, and other expenses." He further explained, "Due to the nature of my profession, my monthly income is not fixed and averages around 5 million won. Regardless of the amount, I sought to fulfill my responsibility by ensuring that nothing was lacking in areas essential for the child. In fact, including these costs, the total amount paid monthly to my former spouse reached approximately 5.5 million won, inclusive of child support."

However, Bae Myung-ho explained, "It was difficult to bear the situation of having to cover not only child support and separate expenses but also my living and operating costs, so I had no choice but to pay some amounts in installments or with delays." He added, "I decided to return as a fighter again, achieve good results, and become financially stable, believing that this would be the best way to fulfill more responsibilities for my child in the long run. I explained my financial situation at the time and requested understanding to pay the delayed child support after the match."

Baek Myung-ho stated, "While preparing to return to the game, I was asked to transfer the title of a vehicle for which all installment payments had been settled. In the process of transferring the vehicle title, another conflict arose over the issue of resolving administrative fines imposed on the vehicle and related rights. Prior to this, there had already been clashes in opinion due to differing positions during the process of handing over the deposit for the house where I previously resided. Despite these difficult circumstances, I did my best with a resolve to take responsibility until the end, but every time such issues arose, I was repeatedly subjected to severe profanity, threats of filing lawsuits, and pressure to expose secrets." He further asserted, "I naturally considered the money I paid as something that should be given, but I grew increasingly exhausted by their harsh demands. Subsequently, various legal procedures followed, including asset seizures, provisional attachments, and claims for damages. At the same time, I was also preparing for legal responses that I did not want. During this process, posts exposing one-sided claims rather than factual relationships were made public."

Bae Myung-ho then stated, "To those who do not understand the situation, it has appeared as though I neglected my family, failed to pay child support, and abandoned my children, painting me as a shameless father. This has gone beyond simple disappointment, leading to accusations such as 'divorced due to an affair' or 'abandoned my children and fled,' based on unverified facts. I believe that what occurred during the marriage and the reasons for its conclusion are matters known only to the parties involved, falling within a deeply private sphere." He further emphasized, "I also experienced extremely difficult times in that private sphere, to the point where I determined we could no longer continue together. This was a choice made after long deliberation. One thing I can clearly state is that I did not divorce due to committing an affair during our marriage."

Finally, Bae Myung-ho added, "I sincerely bow my head once again to apologize to the many people who have been inconvenienced by this incident. However, I hope you will understand that we are compelled to take legal action against baseless accusations or aggressive expressions that tarnish our reputation. We must ensure that those who support me and my colleagues, who are diligently working hard with sweat since my return, do not suffer any unintended harm."

Earlier, Jeong Hye-won, the wife of Bae Myung-ho, posted a lengthy message on her personal account on the 18th, stating that Bae Myung-ho has evaded his responsibilities as a parent by failing to pay child support after the divorce, not fulfilling agreements made at the time of the divorce, and leaving debts unresolved, while also cutting off contact. She announced, "I will no longer endure this and am starting legal proceedings."

Jung Hye-won stated, "During our marriage, I had to deal with and manage my partner's recurring lifestyle issues and the resulting problems on numerous occasions. While these issues persisted, there were many days when I had to care for our young child alone and spend sleepless nights alongside them. In an effort to resolve these recurring problems, I even suggested professional treatment to my partner, but their attempts at change did not last long, and the same issues kept repeating. Furthermore, actions that undermined trust between us also occurred repeatedly throughout our marriage." She continued, "As a result, various problems my partner created outside the home ultimately exceeded the scope of what the two of us could resolve on our own, forcing us to seek formal judgment and spend a long period of time doing so. Nevertheless, hoping to preserve our family and for things to improve, I endured while keeping many aspects hidden."

Jung Hye-won further stated, "In June 2024, during the most difficult period when my child, then 17 months old, was repeatedly hospitalized and discharged due to pneumonia, my partner suddenly left home without explanation, and I did not even know the reason. Immediately after leaving the house, my partner continued a free lifestyle, traveling abroad, attending parties, and taking vacations, all of which were continuously shared on social media. While caring for my sick child, I attempted to persuade my partner multiple times by visiting them directly, including asking them to accompany our child to the hospital, in order to understand the reason and, above all, to protect our family. However, around that time, I came to personally verify facts and circumstances I had not previously known, which led me to re-examine the process that ultimately resulted in the breakdown of our marriage and the time we had spent together. My partner never returned, and eventually, our marriage was concluded through a consensual divorce."

Jung Hye-won stated, "Divorce was not the end of all problems. We agreed to raise our child together until the end and fulfill our responsibilities as parents before finalizing the divorce. However, even after that, the promises were not kept, and responsibility for the child was not properly fulfilled." She further revealed, "We are currently undergoing separate legal proceedings regarding the ongoing failure to pay child support, the non-fulfillment of terms agreed upon at the time of divorce, various financial burdens including personal debts of the other party that I had to resolve on my behalf, multiple issues during our marriage, and matters arising from the breakdown of the marital relationship."

Jung Hye-won explained the reasons for filing a lawsuit, stating, "The most difficult thing for me was my child. The child had to get used to waiting for his father and repeatedly experienced disappointment every day when promises were not kept." She added, "What I hoped for at the time of divorce, and what we promised each other, was that even if our relationship as a couple ended, both parents would continue to fulfill their responsibilities toward the child. The other party promised to resolve various financial issues before and after the game, and I believed those words and waited. However, after winning the game, he uploaded photos of his overseas trip on social media and has continued to avoid contact since then. He is also avoiding paying child support and fulfilling the agreed-upon commitments."

Finally, Jung Hye-won stated, "What I hoped for until the end was that parental responsibilities toward the child and the minimum obligations we had promised each other would be upheld. That small child, who was 17 months old at the time, has now turned four." She added, "This article is written based on materials and grounds from ongoing legal proceedings. Please refrain from unsubstantiated speculation or one-sided criticism, and above all, I earnestly request that you look upon us with a warm heart so that our ordinary daily lives can be protected."

Meanwhile, Bae Myung-ho has mainly competed in the welterweight division and is known by the nickname "Wolverine." He is a member of the Busan team TEAM MAD and is also well-known as an old sparring partner of UFC fighter Kim Dong-hyun. He has appeared on KBS 2TV's "2 Days & 1 Night," MBC's "The Hungry Ones," and the YouTube channel "Coach Yang TV," and currently operates his own YouTube channel.

The following is the full text of an article by Bae Myung-ho.

First, I sincerely apologize for the fatigue and inconvenience caused to many people due to a very personal matter.

We believed this matter should be resolved solely between the parties involved, and thus sought to resolve it quietly through established procedures rather than through public means.

Due to this one-sided statement of position, I have been portrayed as someone who abandoned their children by failing to pay child support, and the situation has even escalated to having false claims presented as facts. Therefore, I wish to convey a clearer message.

I will now address the child support portion.

During the consensual divorce process, child support was determined to be 3 million won per month until the end of 2025 and 1.5 million won per month starting in 2026. Separately, at the request of my former spouse during the divorce proceedings, I also assumed additional responsibility for costs such as remaining rent, car installments, and insurance premiums.

Due to the nature of the profession, monthly income was not fixed and averaged around 1 million won; however, regardless of the amount, I sought to fulfill my responsibility to ensure that there was no shortage in areas essential for the child.

In fact, including these costs, the amount paid monthly to the former spouse reached approximately 1 million won when child support was included.

However, the situation was difficult as I had to bear not only child support and separate costs but also my living expenses and operational costs, which inevitably led to some payments being made in installments or delayed.

In this situation, I decided to return as a fighter and achieve good results to become financially stable, believing that this is the best way for me to fulfill more responsibilities toward my child in the long run.

Explaining the economic situation at the time, we requested understanding that child support payments could be made after the economy recovers.

While preparing to return to Gyeonggi, he was asked to transfer the title of a vehicle for which all installment payments had been settled. This led to renewed conflict over the issue of resolving traffic fines and related rights during the process of transferring the vehicle's title.

Prior to this, there had already been clashes of opinion due to differing stances during the process of transferring the deposit from their former residence. Despite the difficult circumstances, they did their utmost with a resolve to take responsibility until the end; however, every time such issues arose, they were met with repeated severe profanity, threats of filing lawsuits, and pressure to expose them.

I had come to regard the money I paid as something that should naturally be returned, but as the demands became increasingly harsh, I grew progressively weary. Meanwhile, various legal procedures followed, including asset seizure, provisional attachment, and claims for damages, and I too was preparing for legal actions I did not wish to take.

During the process, posts were released that exposed one-sided claims rather than factual information.

To those who do not understand the situation, it has come to a point where I appear as an unscrupulous father who neglected his family, failed to pay child support, and abandoned his children. Beyond mere disappointment, people have begun to criticize me based on unverified facts, making claims such as "I divorced due to an affair" or "I ran away after abandoning my child."

I believe that what happened during the marriage and the reasons why it ended are matters known only to the parties involved, belonging to an extremely private sphere.

I have also gone through such a difficult time that I determined I could no longer continue together in this private realm, and this is the choice I made after long deliberation. One thing I can clearly state here is that we did not divorce due to infidelity during our marriage.

Furthermore, considering that the post also publicly mentioned a request for anyone with relevant information or reports to come forward, it appears that this alone demonstrates the lack of objective evidence and indicates that the matter is not factual.

We sincerely apologize to the many people who have been inconvenienced by this incident.

However, we kindly ask for your understanding that we will be forced to take legal action against unfounded accusations or aggressive expressions that damage our reputation.

This is because I believe that no unintended harm should come to the many people who support me and my colleagues around me, who are diligently working hard even after returning.

We sincerely ask for your consideration so that I and those around me can remain focused on our primary duties, and we earnestly request that you await the court's judgment on this matter.

I am sorry. And thank you.

Dream by Baek Myeong-ho

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.