Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong to face off in court for second mediation session over SK shares

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong, director of the Art Center Nabi, are scheduled to meet in court on May 30 for the second mediation session of their divorce proceedings. This marks their first legal encounter in approximately two years and two months since the final hearing of their appeal in April 2024.

The Seoul High Court's Family Division will preside over the session. In the initial mediation on April 14, only the legal representatives and Roh Soh-yeong were present. The court reportedly heard both parties' positions, but significant progress was not made due to substantial differences regarding the scope of divisible assets, contribution levels, and the valuation period for the assets.

The second mediation is expected to focus on the contentious issue of whether SK shares should be considered marital property subject to division, a central dispute since the first trial. The recent surge in SK stock value adds another layer of complexity, potentially impacting the calculation of asset division depending on the determined valuation date.

This high-profile divorce case began in 2017 when Chey Tae-won filed for divorce mediation, which failed due to Roh Soh-yeong's opposition. A formal lawsuit was filed in February 2018, with Roh Soh-yeong filing a counterclaim for property division in December 2019. The legal proceedings have seen varying judgments, with the first trial ordering Chey Tae-won to pay 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in property division, while the second trial ordered him to pay 1.38 trillion won (35% of 4 trillion won in joint property) and increased alimony to 2 billion won. The Supreme Court later sent the case back to the Seoul High Court, excluding the property division aspect from its ruling but upholding the alimony amount.