Comedian Kim Byung-man Wins Legal Battle to Nullify Adoption of Stepdaughter

Comedian Kim Byung-man has won a legal battle to annul the adoption of his stepdaughter, following a court ruling that concluded their legal relationship should be terminated.

On the 8th, the Seoul Family Court ruled in favor of Kim Byung-man's petition to annul the adoption of his stepdaughter, identified as A. Once this ruling is finalized, A will no longer be legally recognized as Kim Byung-man's daughter.

Kim Byung-man had adopted A when he registered his marriage to a non-celebrity woman, who was seven years his senior, in 2010. Although it was Kim's first marriage, his wife had been previously married and had a daughter, whom Kim adopted as part of his family. However, the marriage ended in divorce a few years later. Kim and his ex-wife began divorce proceedings in 2019, which were finalized by the Supreme Court in 2023.

The conflict persisted even after the divorce. Kim's ex-wife filed charges against him for assault and battery, but Kim was cleared of these charges in November of last year. Additionally, A filed a lawsuit on the 7th of this month, seeking to confirm the existence of a biological parent-child relationship with Kim. In this lawsuit, A claimed that Kim had fathered two children with another woman before his marriage to her mother ended.

It remains undecided whether A will appeal the annulment ruling. If the annulment is finalized, A's lawsuit to confirm a biological relationship with Kim will likely be dismissed, as she would no longer have standing to pursue such a claim.

Kim Byung-man is set to marry a younger non-celebrity office worker on the rooftop of Sebitseom in Seoul on the 20th of next month. He is still involved in an insurance-related lawsuit with his ex-wife.