Noh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, has given up filing a counter-appeal against the remand ruling on property division involving SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

It was learned that Director Noh's legal team did not submit a counter-appeal to the Supreme Court by midnight yesterday (the 13th), which was the deadline for filing a incidental appeal.

A incidental appeal is a system that allows one party in a lawsuit, when the other party has appealed, to simultaneously contest unfavorable parts of the original judgment.

Attention had focused on whether Director Noh's side would further contest the targets and ratios of the property division through a incidental appeal, but it appears they judged that the practical benefits of doing so would not be significant.

Last July, the Seoul High Court ruled in the remand trial of their property division case that Chairman Chey must pay 944 billion won in cash to Director Noh.

The court viewed a total of 2.9 trillion won, including 2 trillion won worth of SK shares, as assets subject to division, and set the division ratio at 66.6% for Chairman Chey and 33.3% for Director Noh.

Following this, Chairman Chey appealed the remand ruling last August.

However, he subsequently submitted an application to the court to reduce the scope of his appeal, stating that he would exclude 700 billion won out of the 944 billion won and contest only the remaining 244 billion won.

The remand trial recognized a 33.3% share for Director Noh even without considering the "slush fund of former President Roh Tae-woo," in accordance with the Supreme Court's ruling stance last year. Since this figure is not significantly less than the 35% acknowledged by the second trial before the remand, Chairman Chey's side plans to take issue with this point.

In addition, the issue is expected to center on the fact that while the remand trial based the valuation of the SK shares subject to division on the closing date of arguments in the pre-remand second trial, it still factored subsequent stock price increases into the calculation of the division ratio.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court is expected to deliberate on whether the remand trial court appropriately included SK Siltron shares acquired by Chairman Chey in 2017—after the breakdown of their marital relationship—as assets subject to property division.

The Supreme Court is expected to assign a justices in charge shortly and begin formal deliberations.
(Photo: Yonhap News)