Smilegate Founder Hyuk-bin Kwon Ordered to Pay Record 2.5 Trillion Won in Divorce Settlement

[Anchor]

Smilegate founder Hyuk-bin Kwon has been ordered to pay 2.5 trillion won in a property division ruling stemming from his divorce lawsuit. This marks the largest divorce property settlement in South Korea's history.

Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong has the details.

[Reporter]

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

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

The court ordered, "Kwon must pay a total of 2.55 trillion won to Lee as a property division, consisting of 35% of Smilegate shares and 65 billion won in cash."

The court calculated the total value of Kwon's 100% stake in Smilegate at 7.1 trillion won.

This property division amount is more than double the 944 billion won awarded in July in the remand appeal of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, making it the largest ever recorded.

The court stated, "We highly evaluated Kwon's business capabilities and contributions," while adding, "We comprehensively considered various factors, including the economic support provided by Lee's family during the early stages of the marriage and the course of the marital life," setting the stock division ratio at 65% for Kwon and 35% for Lee.

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

Kwon married Lee in 2001 and founded Smilegate the following year.

The couple began living apart in 2020, and two years later, Lee filed for divorce, claiming Kwon had neglected his family.

Immediately following 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 stated, "We respect the court's decision."

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