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Staff Reporter
Cho Sung-min, the ex-husband of the late Choi Jin-sil, said Monday that he would let Choi's family manage the deceased actress' property, which he initially insisted a third person should do on behalf of her children. He said he wanted to maintain his parental rights though.
Cho held a press conference saying he and Choi's brother Jin-young agreed to let the Choi family administer the assets of the late actress estimated at 2-3 billion won. He previously said the family could only have custody of the two children, aged six and four.
The former baseball player, however, stressed that he will remain a faithful father to the children.
Cho and Choi divorced in 2004 allegedly due to Cho's infidelity and other ``irreconcilable differences.'' Cho signed a contract giving up custody and property management rights for the two children in exchange for Choi paying off his debt.
However, when Choi killed herself on Oct.2, his lawyer stated that Cho automatically regained his parental rights and that he wanted to have a third person manage the inheritance till the children became adults.
His remarks ignited discussion as to how divorce should affect the property right of a formerly married couple and parental rights over children. Choi's family has vowed to file a lawsuit depriving him of the rights charging that he is ``incapable.''
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
