The trial began in Seoul in a lawsuit involving former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, his Korean wife and her ex-husband.

During the first court hearing at the Seoul Family Court on Thursday, the Korean man whose identity has been withheld repeated his claim that the former German leader was responsible for the failure of his marriage. He is seeking 100 million won ($82,000) in compensation.

Yonhap News Agency quoted the plaintiff’s proxy as saying at the court, “The marriage broke apart because of former Chancellor Schroeder.”

Schroeder tied the knot in 2018 with Kim So-yeon. Kim’s previous marriage ended in 2017.

In response to the lawsuit, Kim has said that the two had been living separately for a number of years and that they had agreed to the divorce that concluded in accordance with the law.

Schroeder, who is highly unlikely to appear in court here, pushed back at the legal action, insisting the plaintiff provide details on when the alleged “tearing down” of the family started, claiming a considerable length of the former couple’s relationship had been sustained for business purposes.

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)