Court Orders Chey Tae-won to Pay Roh Soh-yeong 944 Billion Won: Reactions from Both Sides

[Anchor]

In the remand trial for the property division lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong, the court has ordered Chairman Chey to pay Director Roh 944 billion won. The court determined that SK shares owned by Chairman Chey are subject to division and recognized one-third of the total joint property as Director Roh's share.

We start with a report by reporter Jang Hun-gyeong.

[Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong]

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group and Director Roh Soh-yeong of Art Center Nabi, whose marriage in 1988 between the eldest son of a conglomerate family and the daughter of the sitting president drew significant attention.

The so-called "divorce of the century," which began in 2017 after Chairman Chey abruptly revealed his out-of-wedlock child in 2015, has concluded its proceedings after nine years.

The Seoul High Court ordered Chairman Chey to pay Director Roh 944 billion won in the remand trial of their divorce and property division lawsuit.

While the divided amount decreased by about 400 billion won from the 1.3808 trillion won determined in the second trial before the remand, the court recognized the SK shares held by Chairman Chey as subject to division.

The court did not accept the argument from Chairman Chey's side that SK shares are special property inherited from the former chairman and thus not subject to division.

The court explained, "During the marriage, the value of the shares increased significantly due to Chairman Chey's management activities, and Director Roh contributed through housekeeping, childcare, and external activities related to SK Group."

However, the court did not accept the argument from Director Roh's side that the valuation point for the shares subject to division should be the closing date of arguments in the remand trial, determining it to be April 2024, the closing date of arguments in the previous appellate trial.

The court explained that although "SK stock prices rose sharply after the closing of arguments in the previous appellate trial, it cannot be said that Chairman Chey's contribution had no influence."

Previously, in 2022, the first-instance court ruled that Chairman Chey should pay Director Roh 66.5 billion won in property division and 100 million won in alimony, but two years later, the second-instance court significantly increased the property division to 1.3808 trillion won and alimony to 2 billion won.

In October of last year, the Supreme Court finalized the portions regarding the divorce and alimony while ordering a remand to recalculate the property division amount, excluding former President Roh Tae-woo's slush funds.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min)

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[Anchor]

The alleged 30 billion won gift from Roh Tae-woo was not recognized as a contribution by Director Roh Soh-yeong's side, following the Supreme Court's ruling. Nevertheless, Chairman Chey Tae-won must pay an astronomical sum close to 1 trillion won. The decisive factor was the court's judgment viewing SK shares as joint property formed and maintained together by the couple.

Senior Legal Reporter Im Chan-jong reports.

[Reporter Im Chan-jong]

In October of last year, the Supreme Court reversed the property division portion of the second-instance ruling in the divorce lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong.

There were two main reasons.

First, the approximately 30 billion won gifted by Director Roh's father, Roh Tae-woo, to Chairman Chey's side was illegal funds and could not be viewed as Director Roh's contribution to property formation; second, assets gifted by Chairman Chey to relatives and others before the breakdown of the marital relationship are not subject to division.

Reflecting the Supreme Court's ruling, the remand trial court stated that it would not factor in Roh Tae-woo's gift when calculating the property division ratio, and also excluded assets gifted by Chairman Chey to third parties before the breakdown of the marriage from the division targets.

Even so, the remand trial court ruled that the property division amount for Director Roh's share amounts to 944 billion won.

The decisive factor was the judgment that shares held by Chairman Chey, including SK shares, are subject to division.

The court stated that even without evaluating Roh Tae-woo's gift as a contribution by Director Roh's side, the shares held by Chairman Chey were acquired under Chairman Chey's name during the marriage, and both parties are recognized as having contributed to their formation, maintenance, and increase in value.

Accordingly, the court calculated Director Roh's share ratio at 1/3 of the total, or approximately 33.3%, a slight reduction from the 35% set by the second trial.

Given that the second-instance court determined the ratio by treating Roh Tae-woo's gift as a contribution to be considered in property division, this is interpreted as the remand trial judging that even with that portion excluded, there is no significant difference in the division ratio.

(Video Reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video Editing: Kim Yoon-seong)

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[Anchor]

Let us discuss this further with legal team reporter Kim Deok-hyeon.

Q. Reactions from Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong after the "divorce of the century" ruling?

[Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon: Immediately after the ruling, Chairman Chey Tae-won's side stated, "We regret causing concern to many people during the divorce lawsuit process," and added that they will announce their official position later.]

[Lee Jae-geun / Legal representative for SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won: We will be able to express our specific position after reviewing the judgment text. We will also organize and state our stance on whether to appeal to the Supreme Court after reviewing the ruling.]

[Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon: On the other hand, Director Roh Soh-yeong's side left the court without any particular remarks. Both sides are expected to decide whether to file another appeal to the Supreme Court after analyzing the judgment text. From Chairman Chey's perspective, although the property division amount decreased from the 1.383 trillion won calculated in the previous appellate trial, it is still close to 1 trillion won. From Director Roh's perspective, the receivable amount has decreased by 400 billion won compared to the previous second-instance court's judgment, so both sides are likely not to end the legal battle here. Another key issue is expected to be whether the Supreme Court can re-evaluate whether SK shares owned by Chairman Chey are subject to property division.]

Q. "Cash payment of property division": What is the significance of the court's decision?

[Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon: The remand trial court ruled that the property division should be paid in cash, pointing out that Chairman Chey's SK shares serve as the basis for management and control of the company, meaning it could impact group operations. This appears to reflect Chairman Chey's consistent stance that even if property division is ordered, he would pay in cash due to management control concerns. Previously, the appellate trial similarly ruled that the division amount should be paid in cash, mirroring the remand trial. Furthermore, the court stated that Director Roh's preference regarding the method of division was also taken into account in opting for cash payment. Even if the case goes back to the Supreme Court stage and SK shares are once again deemed subject to division, the cash payment method itself is unlikely to change significantly.]

(Video Reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.