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Chey Tae-won to pay Roh Soh-yeong nearly $1 billion in assets, or appeal by Friday

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified In the courts
  • SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won faces a deadline to appeal a court ruling ordering him to pay nearly $1 billion in assets to his estranged wife, Roh Soh-yeong.
  • The appellate court significantly increased the asset division amount from the initial ruling, ordering Chey to pay 944 billion won ($680 million) in cash.
  • The legal battle began in 2015 after Chey revealed he had a child outside of his marriage, leading to divorce proceedings and a complex division of assets involving SK shares.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has until midnight on June 14th to decide whether to appeal a court ruling that mandates him to pay approximately 944 billion won (about $680 million) in assets to his estranged wife, Roh Soh-yeong. The outcome of this deadline will determine if the appellate court's decision becomes final or if the high-stakes financial dispute escalates to the Supreme Court.

The appellate court ordered Chey to pay Roh Soh-yeong 944 billion won in cash as asset division.

— Court RulingThis quote summarizes the key financial order from the appellate court's decision.

The Seoul High Court's Family Division recently ordered Chey to pay Roh the substantial sum in cash, a significant increase from the 66.5 billion won awarded in the first trial. The court also stipulated that Chey must pay daily interest of roughly 129.3 million won on the outstanding amount from the day after the ruling is finalized until the debt is fully settled.

The protracted legal battle originated in 2015 when Chey publicly acknowledged a child born out of wedlock. This revelation led Roh to seek a divorce mediation, which ultimately failed, prompting Chey to file for divorce in 2018. Roh subsequently filed a counterclaim in December 2019.

Chey Tae-won must pay approximately 129.3 million won in late interest daily from the day after the judgment is finalized until the full amount is paid.

— Court RulingThis details the penalty for delayed payment of the asset division.

While the first trial awarded Roh 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in asset division, the second trial dramatically raised the alimony to 2 billion won and the asset division to 1.38 trillion won. However, the Supreme Court partially overturned the second trial's ruling in October last year, sending the asset division aspect back to the Seoul High Court for reconsideration. The Supreme Court ruled that 30 billion won in alleged slush funds from Roh's father, former President Roh Tae-woo, could not be considered illegal funds subject to division. Despite excluding this specific amount, the appellate court maintained that Chey's SK shares were divisible assets and calculated Roh's share at one-third, leading to the 944 billion won judgment.

The Supreme Court ruled that 30 billion won from former President Roh Tae-woo could not be considered illegal funds subject to division.

— Supreme Court RulingThis explains a key factor in the Supreme Court's decision to remand the case for reconsideration.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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