*Ex-wife Is Daughter Of Former President
The Supreme Court has struck down a South Korean lower court’s order for billionaire Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife a 1.38tn won ($1bn; £788m) settlement, in a case dubbed by local media as the ‘divorce of the century’.
Citing a miscalculation that increased the value of the couple’s assets, it has ordered the case to be reviewed.
The case has gripped South Korea as Mr Tae-won heads the powerful SK Group conglomerate while his ex-wife, Roh So-young, is the daughter of a former president.
The marriage unravelled in 2015 after Tae-won admitted to fathering a child with his lover.
The 1.38 trillion won payout was decided by a court in the capital Seoul in 2024.
At the time, it was considered the largest divorce settlement in South Korea’s history.
The court said a 30bn won slush fund by Ms So-young’s father, former President Roh Tae-woo, had helped contribute to the growth of SK Group and could be considered as her contribution to the couple’s joint assets.
Mr Tae-won then appealed the settlement.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the slush fund “appeared to have originated from bribes illegally received” by the former President and thus could not be considered part of the couple’s assets.
“I think it is very significant that the Supreme Court clearly declared that it was wrong to recognise that as a contribution to the couple’s joint property,” said Mr Tae-won’s lawyer, Lee Jae-geun.
However, the Supreme Court upheld a 2bn won alimony payment for Ms So-young.
Shares of SK fell 5.4% after the ruling yesterday, as it was seen to prolong Mr Tae-won’s legal battle with his ex-wife.
But in the short term analysts believe a shake-up at SK Group is unlikely, as Tae-won is not immediately compelled to raise funds for his divorce settlement.
He controls key subsidiaries of the group such as SK Telecom, SK Square and SK Innovation.
SK’s businesses span the telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals and semiconductor sectors.
Roh Tae-woo (17 August 1932– 26 October 2021) was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the sixth President of South Korea from 1988 to 1993.
Shortly after inauguration, he presided over the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. In foreign affairs, Tae-woo pursued the policy of Nordpolitik and established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union and China. Relations with North Korea improved during his presidency, and the two Koreas were simultaneously admitted into the United Nations in 1991.
In 1996, Tae-woo and close friend, former President Chun Doo-hwan were convicted for corruption as well as their roles in the 1979 coup that brought Doo-hwan to power, and the Gwangju massacre; Tae-woo was sentenced to 17 years in prison while Doo-hwan was given a life sentence. Both were pardoned the following year by President Kim Young-sam on advice of incoming President-elect Kim Dae-jung.
Tae-woo died on 26 October 2021, at the age of 88.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Tae-won (left) and So-young.
