SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, ex-wife fail to reach settlement in divorce asset dispute

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong failed to reach a settlement in their long-running divorce property division dispute.

The Seoul High Court held the second mediation session for the division of assets on Monday, but the talks ended after about an hour and a half as the two sides failed to narrow differences over the amount of assets to be divided.

Monday marked the first time Chey and Roh had appeared in court together in just over two years since the final appellate hearing in April 2024.

With mediation unsuccessful, the case will now proceed through formal litigation. The court is scheduled to hold another hearing on June 26 and continue proceedings in the remanded case.

"I hope the mediation can be successfully concluded so the matter can be resolved quickly," Chey said before entering the courtroom.

Roh, who arrived earlier, entered the courtroom without responding to questions from reporters.

The two sides are expected to continue battling over the scale, method and basis of the asset division.

At the center of the dispute is whether Chey's SK shares should be subject to division.

Chey's side argues that the shares are separate property acquired through inheritance or gifts and therefore shouldn't be included in the division of assets.

Roh's side contends that the shares should be considered marital property subject to division because she supported Chey's management activities while taking primary responsibility for raising the couple's children and managing household affairs.

If the shares are deemed subject to division, the parties are also expected to dispute the valuation date for the property division.

Depending on whether the valuation date is set at April 16, 2024 — when appellate proceedings for the divorce concluded — or the conclusion of the current remand proceedings, the value of the assets could differ by more than threefold.

Chey and Roh married in September 1988 and have three children. Their legal dispute began in 2017 when Chey filed for divorce mediation.

In December 2022, the trial court ordered Chey to pay Roh 100 million won ($66,000) in alimony and 66.5 billion won in cash as part of the property division.

However, the appellate court ruled in May 2024 that Chey should pay 2 billion won in alimony and 1.38 trillion won in property division. The appellate court overturned the lower court's finding that Chey's stake in SK was not subject to division, increasing the property division assets by roughly 20 times.

The case then moved to the Supreme Court, which determined that slush funds belonging to former President Roh Tae-woo — Roh Soh-yeong's father — that the appellate court had recognized as contributing to her share of the marital assets were illegal funds. The court also found that Roh Soh-yeong could not be deemed to have directly contributed to the increase in the value of SK shares.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]