South Korea’s Chey Tae-won ordered to pay ex-wife $644 million in divorce settlement

The Seoul High Court has ordered the chairman of South Korea’s SK Group to pay his ex-wife 944bn won in a case local media have called the high-profile divorce of the century.

The award which is still subject to appeal is under review is below the initial 1.38tn won chairman Chey Tae-won was ordered to pay Roh Soh-yeong in 2024.

This comes after a marriage lasting to Roh more than three decades, during which the daughter of a foreigner president collapsed upon learning that he had fathered a child with another woman.

According to Chey’s lawyers, Chairman Chey Tae-woo sincerely apologized for the alarm caused by the divorce proceedings so far.

Chey’s lawyers said: “Chairman Chey Tae-woo is deeply sorry that the divorce proceedings so far have caused concern to many people. We will share specific responses to the verdict after we closely review the ruling.”

The prominent semiconductor giant, SK Hynix, an SK Group supplies chips to Nvidia and shattered records out on the US stock market right out of the gate.

The court had indicated that the former president had given Chey 30bn Korean won from his secret find and initially ordered Chey to pay 1.38tn won to his former wife.

While the Supreme Court overturned the previous verdict last year and ruled that the slush fund and hidden off-the-books account could not be legally secured as marital assets, SK group has gained global prominence driven by its affiliate SK Hynix positioning itself at the centre of the AI boom.

Notably, the chipmaker surpassed a $1 tn valuation on the South Korean stock market. Nonetheless, the company raised $26.5bn in its New York offering, making it the largest prominent foreign debut in US listing history.