South Korean court orders SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won to pay ex-wife 944 billion won in divorce asset ruling
The Facts
- A South Korean court ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his former wife, Roh Soh-yeong, 944 billion won, or about $644 million, in their divorce asset settlement case.
- The new award is lower than the 1.38 trillion won settlement that had been ordered in 2024.
- The Supreme Court had sent part of the earlier ruling back for reconsideration, leading to the latest decision on the amount of the asset division.
- The divorce itself had already been finalized, and the remaining dispute was over how much Chey should pay in the division of assets.
- The case has focused in part on whether Chey’s holdings in SK Inc. should be treated as marital property subject to division.
- The ruling has drawn attention beyond the couple because it involves the chairman of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate and his stake in SK Group, whose chip affiliate SK Hynix has become more prominent during the AI boom.
- Chey’s lawyers said they were reviewing whether to appeal the latest ruling, so the asset settlement was not necessarily final.
Context
Why did this case attract so much public attention?
The case involves Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, one of South Korea’s biggest conglomerates, and Roh Soh-yeong, the daughter of former President Roh Tae-woo. Coverage also linked the dispute to the value of Chey’s stake in SK and the rising profile of SK Hynix during the AI boom Reuters,Reuters,BBC.
What part of the divorce was still being decided?
According to multiple reports, the divorce itself and 2 billion won in damages had already been finalized. The unresolved issue was the amount of the property division Chey owed Roh Reuters,Reuters,Independent.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- The unresolved issue is not the divorce but how far a court can treat Chey’s SK-linked holdings as marital property in dividing assets.
- Where Left and Right split
- Wealth and power being fully counted in a marriage, or courts keeping private asset disputes from reaching too far into corporate control.
How left and right read it
944 billion won is an almost surreal sum, but the real stake is more basic: whether holdings tied to one of South Korea’s biggest conglomerates count as marital property at all. When a fight over private assets reaches this scale, with SK Group and SK Hynix in the frame and another appeal still possible, it stops reading like celebrity spectacle and starts pressing a harder question about who power lets walk away with what.
“The spectacular rise and fall of their marriage has played out like the best of K-dramas.” — The New York Times
A South Korean court ordered Chey Tae-won to pay Roh Soh-yeong 944 billion won, after the Supreme Court sent part of an earlier ruling back and reduced the prior 2024 award. That matters because the divorce itself is settled; the live question is how far courts can reach into holdings in SK Inc. while an appeal remains under review. Keep the line between private disputes and control of major enterprise clear.
“The ruling brings a possible end to South Korea's so-called "divorce of the century," capping a decade-long legal saga that mixed a billionaire's affair, a former president's family, alleged slush-fund money and one of Asia's hottest artificial-intelligence fortunes.” — New York Post
The receipts — all 100 sources
Wire services (4)
Independent coverage (50)
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