Court Orders SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to Pay Roh Soh-yeong 944 Billion Won: Reactions and Rulings

[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 property division, recognizing one-third of the total joint property as Director Roh's share.

We begin with a report from reporter Jang Hun-gyeong.

[Reporter]

The marriage between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong, which drew massive attention back in 1988 as a union between the eldest son of a chaebol family and the daughter of the sitting president.

The so-called "divorce of the century," which began in 2017 after Chairman Chey unexpectedly revealed his out-of-wedlock child in 2015, has now come to a temporary close 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 division amount decreased by about 400 billion won compared to the 1.3808 trillion won determined by the second trial before the remand, the court recognized the SK shares held by Chairman Chey as subject to division.

This means the court rejected Chairman Chey's argument that SK shares are exceptional property inherited from his late father and therefore 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, child-rearing, and external activities related to the SK group."

However, the court did not accept Director Roh's argument that the valuation date for the shares subject to division should be the closing date of arguments in the remand trial, instead determining it to be April 2024, which was 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 impact."

Previously, in 2022, the first-instance court ordered Chairman Chey to pay Director Roh 66.5 billion won in property division and 100 million won in alimony. However, 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 divorce and alimony rulings while ordering a remand to recalculate the property division amount, excluding former President Roh Tae-woo's slush funds and other factors.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min)

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[Anchor]

The donation from Roh Tae-woo, estimated at 30 billion won, was not recognized as Director Roh Soh-yeong's contribution following the Supreme Court's ruling. Even so, Chairman Chey Tae-won must pay an astronomical sum close to 1 trillion won. The crucial factor was the determination that SK shares are joint property formed and maintained together by the couple.

Legal affairs specialist reporter Im Chan-jong has more.

[Reporter]

In October of last year, the Supreme Court vacated 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 reasons.

First, the approximately 30 billion won donated by Director Roh's father, Roh Tae-woo, to Chairman Chey's side constituted illegal funds and could not be viewed as a contribution by Director Roh to asset 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 also stated that it would not factor in Roh Tae-woo's donation when calculating the property division ratio, and also excluded from division assets that Chairman Chey gifted to third parties before the breakdown of the marriage.

Nevertheless, the remand trial court ruled that Director Roh's share of the property division amounts to 944 billion won.

The decisive factor was the court's 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 donation as a contribution from Director Roh's side, the shares held by Chairman Chey were acquired under his name during the marriage, and both individuals are recognized as having contributed to their formation, maintenance, and increase in value.

Accordingly, the court calculated Director Roh's share ratio at one-third of the total, or approximately 33.3%, a slight decrease from the 35% set by the second-instance trial.

Considering that the second-instance court had determined the ratio by factoring in Roh Tae-woo's donation as a contribution for property division, this suggests that the remand court judged there to be no significant difference in the division ratio even after excluding that portion.

(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. The "Divorce of the Century" Ruling: What Are the Stances of Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong?

[Kim Deok-hyeon : Immediately after the ruling, Chairman Chey Tae-won's side stated, "We regret causing concern to many people during the course of the divorce lawsuit," adding that they would announce their official stance later.]

[Lee Jae-keun / Legal Representative for SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won : We will be able to share a specific stance after reviewing the ruling text. We will also organize and state our position regarding whether to appeal to the Supreme Court after reviewing the ruling.]

[Kim Deok-hyeon : On the other hand, Director Roh Soh-yeong's side left the courthouse without making any particular remarks. Both sides are expected to decide whether to file another appeal to the Supreme Court after analyzing the ruling text. From Chairman Chey's perspective, even though the property division amount has decreased from the 1.3800 trillion won calculated in the previous appellate trial, it remains an amount close to 1 trillion won. From Director Roh's perspective as well, the amount she can receive has decreased by 400 billion won compared to the previous second-instance court judgment, meaning both sides are likely to pursue further legal steps. Another key issue is expected to be whether the Supreme Court can review once again whether SK shares owned by Chairman Chey qualify as subject to property division.]

Q. "Cash Payment of Property Division": What Is the Legal Significance of the Court's Decision?

[Kim Deok-hyeon : The remand trial court ruled that the property division must be paid in cash, pointing out that Chairman Chey's SK shares serve as the basis for management rights and control over the company—meaning they can impact group operations. Chairman Chey's side has consistently argued that even if property division is ordered, it should be paid in cash due to management rights issues, and this point appears to have been reflected. Like the remand trial, the previous appellate trial also ruled that the division should be paid in cash. Furthermore, the court stated that Director Roh's preference regarding the method of division was also taken into account in choosing the cash payment method. 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.