South Korean court orders SK Group chair to pay ex-wife $645 million in divorce settlement
An appeals court ordered SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won to pay roughly $645 million to his former wife Roh Soh-yeong, concluding a decade-long legal dispute over the division of his assets.
An appeals court in South Korea ruled on Friday that AI technology entrepreneur and SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won must pay his ex-spouse Roh Soh-yeong about $645 million. The decision ends a series of lawsuits that began in 2015 after Chey announced his intention to divorce Roh, whom he married in 1988, and disclosed a child with another woman.
Roh, a museum director and the daughter of former president Roh Tae-woo, had sought half of Chey’s estimated $5 billion fortune, much of which is linked to semiconductor maker SK Hynix. The judges based the award on an earlier valuation of Chey’s assets, before the recent surge in SK shares.
"The court’s assessment reflects the assets’ value at the relevant time," a court spokesperson said.
Chey, 65, had previously been ordered to provide Roh with approximately $1.3 million in alimony. The divorce was finalized last year, and the couple has three adult children. Both parties retain the right to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Legal analysts had previously estimated that the settlement could reach up to $1 billion, making the current award one of the largest divorce settlements recorded in South Korea.