SK Group chairman Chey Tae‑won has been ordered by a South Korean court to pay his ex‑wife 944 bn won ($644 m) in a high‑profile divorce, a verdict that local media have called the "divorce of the century." The award still needs to be finalised, but it falls short of the 1.38 tn won amount that the jury had initially imposed in 2024. The order follows a decade‑long marriage that ended after an admission that Chey had fathered a child with another woman.
The decision comes amid scrutiny over the division of assets between Roh Soh‑yeong and Chey. In 2024, Roh’s legal team argued that Chey had benefited from a slush fund provided by his ex‑wife’s father, former president Roh Tae‑woo, in 1991. A Supreme Court ruling later overturned that portion of the award, deeming the funds illegal and excluding them from the couple’s assets.
SK Group, which began as a textile firm in 1953, now dominates South Korea’s economy. Its semiconductor subsidiary SK Hynix has become a global superstar, contributing chips to giants like Nvidia and recently topping $1 tn on the Korean market. Chey’s rising profile has attracted praise from President Lee Jae‑myung, who hailed him as a "hero of Korean people" during a recent AI investment unveiling.
The court’s ruling highlights how the fortunes of South Korea’s mega‑conglomerates can be intertwined with personal disputes. The BBC has reached out to SK Group for comment on the decision. This development is expected to alter the financial landscape of SK Group and its future strategic moves.
