SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, 65, has been ordered to pay 944 billion won in divorce asset division to Roh Soh-yeong, 65, director of Art Center Nabi, in a ruling on remand. The amount is 436.8 billion won less than the 1.3808 trillion won recognized in the appellate trial. The decision on the merits comes nine years after Chey filed for divorce mediation in 2017.
The Seoul High Court's Family Division 1 (presiding judge Lee Sang-ju) issued the ruling on the 24th in the couple's divorce lawsuit on remand. The court included the SK shares held by Chey in the assets subject to division. It determined that the value of the shares rose significantly through Chey's management activities during the marriage, and that Roh also contributed to the formation and maintenance of the assets through household work and child-rearing, as well as external activities related to SK Group.
The value of the shares was calculated based on April 16, 2024, the date the appellate trial arguments concluded. The asset division ratio was set at 66.7% for Chey and 33.3% for Roh. However, the court allowed Chey to retain the SK shares and ordered him to pay the shortfall in Roh's share in cash. As a result, even if the ruling is finalized, its direct impact on SK Group's governance structure is expected to be limited.
Whether either side will appeal to the Supreme Court has not yet been decided. Chey's side said, "We will state our specific position after closely reviewing the ruling." The two married in 1988, and divorce proceedings began in 2017 after Chey disclosed the existence of a child born outside the marriage in 2015.
