Tech billionaire who cheated on his wife ordered to pay $644 million in South Korea's ‘divorce of the century’

A SOUTH Korean court on Friday ordered Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, to pay his ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong 944 billion won ($644 million) in a divorce settlement, reducing the amount from an earlier ruling that had awarded her 1.38 trillion won ($940 million).

According to AFP, the revised ruling was delivered after South Korea's Supreme Court directed the Seoul High Court to reconsider its 2024 judgment.

The case, which has attracted widespread attention in South Korea, has been described by local media as the "divorce of the century" because of the enormous financial stakes involved.

However, the legal battle is not yet over. Either party can still refer the case back to the Supreme Court, meaning the settlement is yet to become final.

Dispute Centres On SK Group Shares

The lengthy dispute has largely focused on how the couple's marital assets should be valued and divided, particularly Chey's highly valuable stake in SK Group, one of South Korea's largest conglomerates.

Chey, 65, heads SK Group, whose subsidiaries include SK hynix, one of the world's leading memory chip manufacturers. The company has emerged as a key player in the artificial intelligence boom by supplying high-performance memory chips to AI computing giant Nvidia.

According to regulatory filings and public data cited by AFP, Chey's stake in SK Group is now worth roughly $5.5 billion.

In its latest ruling, the Seoul High Court said Roh was entitled to a cash settlement equivalent to one-third of the couple's marital assets.

"The defendant's shareholdings increased substantially during the marriage through his management activities," the court said.

It added, "The plaintiff contributed to that increase through homemaking, childcare and public-facing activities related to SK Group."

Lawyers Yet To Decide On Further Appeal

Following Friday's ruling, one of Chey's lawyers said the SK chairman "deeply regrets the concern caused" by the prolonged legal dispute but has not yet decided whether he will appeal the decision.

Chey and Roh married in 1988 and have three children together. Although they have reportedly lived apart for more than 15 years, the divorce proceedings formally began after Chey filed for divorce in 2017. Court-mediated negotiations later broke down, leading to a prolonged legal battle that has continued since 2022.

In 2015, Chey publicly admitted to fathering a child with another woman.

Roh, also 65, is the daughter of former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo and has built a career in the cultural sector, including running a digital art museum.

Court Rejected Earlier Asset Calculation

The latest judgment follows an earlier Supreme Court decision that rejected part of the reasoning behind the Seoul High Court's 2024 ruling.

The original judgment had cited a 30 billion won slush fund allegedly used by Roh Tae-woo to support SK Group's growth, treating it as part of Roh's contribution to the couple's shared wealth.

However, in October, the Supreme Court ruled that any such funds were likely linked to illegal bribes and therefore could not be considered in calculating the division of marital assets.

Another major issue before the court was whether the sharp increase in SK Group's value—driven largely by the global surge in demand for AI-related technology after the couple had separated—should be reflected in the asset split.

Addressing that issue, the Seoul High Court said, "The court took into account the sharp rise in the value of the defendant's shareholdings when determining the property division ratio."

SK Group's shares have more than tripled in value since December 2015, when Chey publicly disclosed his extramarital affair.

Separately, the Supreme Court had already ordered Chey to pay 2 billion won in alimony to Roh.