Shock confession: Comedian Kim Gu-ra revisited the ex-wife debt scandal that led to his past divorce, laying bare how the lies—and not just the money—destroyed trust.
On the March 31 broadcast of TV Chosun’s variety show Her Private Life, the story of a couple in their second year after marriage was revealed. The wife said she learned about her husband’s debt only after the wedding, confessing, "It started at around 3 million won, but it kept snowballing until it hit 50 million won." She added, "Repeated lies shattered our trust."
Relating deeply to the couple, Kim Gu-ra recalled his own experience. "My marriage also ended for a similar reason," he said. "The amount known to the public is 1.7 billion won, but it wasn’t like that from the start. It grew from about 1 billion won."
Kim stressed that honesty matters even more than the amount. "If you don’t state the size of the debt accurately and hide it, the lies keep piling up," he emphasized. "That’s what ultimately breaks the relationship." He added, "I’m raising my voice because I’ve been through it myself. For the person involved, it becomes almost unbearable."
The couple in question had also fallen into deep conflict over money. The husband, who works in insurance, explained that chargebacks from canceled policies turned into debt, but failing to fully share this became the starting point of their dispute. The wife said, "A married couple is a team, and hiding the situation felt like a betrayal," explaining why her trust collapsed.
Kim reiterated, "This should have been discussed honestly from the beginning," and added, "In the end, many couples split up because of money."
Kim Gu-ra married his ex-wife in 1997 and welcomed his son GREE. Due to his ex-wife’s debts and asset seizures, they divorced in 2015. Kim settled the debts over roughly three years and remarried in 2020, starting a new family.