South Korean conglomerate chief ordered to pay $644 million to ex-wife

A South Korean court has ordered Chey Tae-won, the chairman of the SK Group conglomerate, to pay 944 billion won (approximately $644 million) to his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, as part of their divorce settlement. The ruling, issued by the Seoul High Court, addresses the division of marital assets, specifically Chey's shares in SK Inc., the group's main holding company.

The court determined that these shares and other securities held by Chey are divisible marital property, acknowledging the contributions of both spouses to their formation, preservation, and value increase during their marriage. This latest decision, however, represents a reduction from a previous award of 1.4 trillion won ($955 million) in 2024, which was later annulled by the Supreme Court.

Roh had sought to have the shares valued based on their June 2026 market price, reflecting the significant growth of SK hynix, South Korea's second-largest company by market capitalization. However, the court opted to use the value from April 16, 2024, when the shares were trading at around 160,000 won ($109) each. The court allocated one-third of the divisible assets to Roh, daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, and the remaining two-thirds to Chey.

Chey's defense team stated they would review the ruling before deciding whether to file a further appeal with the Supreme Court. Chey and Roh, who married in 1988 and have three children, initiated divorce proceedings after Chey admitted to an extramarital affair in 2015.

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such shares and other securities held by Chey form part of the divisible assets, considering that both spouses contributed to their formation, conservation, and increase in value during the marriage.