Highlights:
- Court orders $644 million payout, down from original $940 million
- Case involves SK Group, parent of chipmaker SK hynix
- Ex-wife is daughter of a former South Korean president
- Settlement reflects one-third of couple's marital assets
- Ruling not final — case could return to Supreme Court
A South Korean court on Friday ordered Chey Tae-won, the 65-year-old chairman of SK Group, to pay $644 million to his former wife in one of the country's most closely watched divorce cases. SK Group is the parent company of SK hynix, a major global memory chipmaker that supplies key components used in AI computing hardware, including for US chip giant Nvidia , making Chey's business empire a central pillar of South Korea's tech economy.
The Seoul High Court had originally ordered Chey in 2024 to pay his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, 1.38 trillion won, worth roughly $940 million at the time, a sum so large that local media nicknamed the case the "divorce of the century." Chey appealed to South Korea's Supreme Court, which sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration. That review resulted in Friday's reduced settlement of 944 billion won, or about $644 million. The ruling is not yet final, as either side can still challenge it before the Supreme Court.
At the heart of the dispute is how to value and divide the couple's shared assets, particularly Chey's stake in SK Group. The Seoul High Court ruled Friday that Roh is entitled to a cash payment equal to one-third of the couple's marital assets, stating that Chey's "shareholdings increased substantially during the marriage through his management activities," while Roh "contributed to that increase through homemaking, childcare and public-facing activities related to SK Group."
One of Chey's attorneys told reporters the businessman "deeply regrets the concern caused" by the case but has not decided whether to appeal further. Roh's legal team declined to comment.
Chey and Roh married in 1988 in Seoul's presidential residence, the Blue House, while Roh's father, Roh Tae-woo, served as South Korea's president from 1988 to 1993. The couple are believed to have lived separately for more than 15 years before Chey filed for divorce in 2017; court battles began in 2022 after mediation efforts failed. In 2015, Chey publicly acknowledged fathering a child with another woman.
The case has also raised complicated legal questions. The original 2024 ruling had counted a 30 billion won fund — tied to Roh's father — as part of her contribution to the couple's wealth. But South Korea's Supreme Court rejected that reasoning in October, ruling that the money likely came from illegal bribes and therefore shouldn't factor into the asset split.
Judges also had to weigh how much of SK Group's dramatic growth — fueled largely by the global AI boom — should count toward the settlement, given that the company's value rose sharply after the couple separated. Friday's court statement said judges "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, the same month Chey disclosed his affair publicly.
Chey's stake in SK Group is now estimated at roughly $5.5 billion, according to public regulatory filings. Roh, also 65, has three children with Chey and has pursued a career in the arts, currently running a digital art museum. South Korea's Supreme Court had separately ordered Chey to pay Roh 2 billion won in alimony.
