The most expensive divorce in Korea, SK Group Chairman had to pay more than 1 billion USD

Mr. Chey, Chairman of SK Group and Ms. Roh, daughter of the late President Roh Tae-woo

The Korea JoongAng Daily reported that on May 30, a court in Seoul (South Korea) ruled that Mr. Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, must pay 1,380 billion won (1 billion USD) in property division and 2 billion won in alimony to his wife in the divorce case.

The ruling makes the case between Chey, 64, and Roh Soh-yeong, 63, the most expensive divorce in South Korea ever. SK shares jumped 9.26% to nearly 158,100 won after the ruling.

The appeals court ruled in favor of Ms. Roh that her late father, former President Roh Tae-woo, contributed to SK Group's growth by providing 34.3 billion won in slush funds to former and current SK chairmen in the 1990s to buy a securities company and SK shares.

The court also found that the late president used her position to "protect" the management activities of her husband's late father, former SK Group Chairman Chey Jong-hyun.

The ruling overturns a previous court decision that Mr Chey did not have to divide the SK shares because they were inherited assets. Mr Chey's lawyers said he would appeal the latest ruling.

In September 1988, Mr. Chey married Ms. Roh at the Blue House, about seven months after her father became president. The couple had two daughters and a son. The couple separated in September 2011, and in 2015, Mr. Chey filed for divorce. In December 2022, the Seoul Family Court recognized the divorce and let Mr. Chey keep the majority of the shares.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-ly-hon-dat-nhat-han-quoc-chu-tich-sk-group-phai-dua-hon-1-ti-usd-185240530192942644.htm