Record-Breaking 2.5 Trillion Won Property Division... More Than Twice Chey Tae-won's

[Anchor]

A court has ordered Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin to give his spouse approximately 2.5 trillion won in a divorce lawsuit. This is the largest property division amount ever in a domestic divorce suit in South Korea, more than double that of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong has the details.

[Reporter]

The Seoul Family Court has accepted the divorce petition filed by Lee, the spouse of Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin.

The first-instance ruling was delivered about four years after Lee filed the lawsuit in November 2022.

The court ruled, "Kwon must pay Lee a total of 2.55 trillion won as property division, including 35 percent of Smilegate shares and 65 billion won in cash."

The court estimated the value of Kwon's 100 percent stake in Smilegate at 7.1 trillion won.

In terms of the scale of property division, this is the largest amount ever, more than double the 944 billion won awarded in July in the remand trial of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

The court stated, "We highly evaluated Kwon's business capability and contribution, while comprehensively considering the economic support from Lee's family in the early stages of the marriage and the course of the marital life," setting the stock division ratio at 65 percent for Kwon and 35 percent for Lee.

However, the court dismissed the claim for alimony, ruling that both sides shared equal responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage, designated Lee as the legal custodian of their minor child, and ordered Kwon to pay 20 million won per month in child support.

Kwon, who married Lee in 2001, founded Smilegate the following year.

The couple entered separation in 2020, and two years later, Lee filed for divorce, claiming that Kwon had neglected the family.

Immediately after the ruling, Kwon's legal representative stated, "We will review the judgment in detail and discuss future procedures with our client," while Lee's side said, "We respect the court's decision."

(Video by In Pil-seong | Video Editing by Kim Yun-seong | Image courtesy of Smilegate)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.