South Korea’s Supreme Court has annulled a previous ruling that required billionaire Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife, Roh So-young, a settlement of 1.38 trillion won (approximately $1 billion). The decision follows the court’s finding of a miscalculation in asset evaluation, leading to a directive for the case to be re-examined.
Chey, who leads the influential SK Group conglomerate, and Roh, the daughter of a former president, have drawn significant public interest due to their high-profile divorce, which began in 2015 when Chey acknowledged fathering a child with another woman. The settlement, established by a Seoul court in 2024, was initially regarded as the largest divorce payout in South Korean history.
A critical consideration in the case was a 30 billion won slush fund associated with Roh’s father, former president Roh Tae-woo. The court determined that this fund, linked to illicit bribes received by the former president, should not be included in the couple’s joint assets. Chey’s lawyer remarked on the Supreme Court’s clarity regarding the misclassification of this fund.
Despite nullifying the large settlement, the Supreme Court did maintain a separate alimony ruling of 2 billion won for Roh. In response to the announcement, SK Group’s stock fell by 5.4%, as the ruling is expected to extend the legal dispute between the former couple. Nevertheless, analysts suggest that the ruling is unlikely to prompt immediate structural changes within SK Group, where Chey retains control over significant subsidiaries, including SK Telecom, SK Square, and SK Innovation, which operate across various sectors such as telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2drpd1pwrno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss