By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

A court rejected a divorce filing by a husband who never had sex with his wife during their 10 years of marriage, citing the wife's willingness to have normal sexual relations.

The couple, married in May 1999, attempted to have sex early on in the marriage but failed for a variety of reasons. Since then, they maintained a sexless relationship, according to the filing to the Seoul Family Court.

The unidentified husband, 37, told his parents in 2007 about their situation. After the disclosure, the relationship between his wife and his other family members turned sour.

In August 2007, the husband filed a divorce suit with the court, claiming his wife refused to have sex with him for no justifiable reason, and her lavish spending had worsened the family's financial condition.

However, the court said there was no evidence to prove that the sexless relationship was the wife's fault. ``It's true that the couple maintained a sexless relationship for a long time, but we found no evidence backing the husband's allegation that she refused to have sex without any justifiable reason.''

The court added, ``Despite the sexless life, the husband did not complain until January 2007, and since then, has not provided any physical or periodical opportunity for his wife to normalize their relations. Also, she has shown a strong desire to restore relations.''

pss@koreatimes.co.kr