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South Korea’s Supreme Court has overturned a lower court’s decision ordering billionaire Chey Tae-won, chairman of the SK Group conglomerate, to pay his ex-wife Roh So-young a staggering 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion; £788 million) in what has been described as the “divorce of the century.”
The ruling, delivered on Thursday, cited a miscalculation in the valuation of the couple’s assets. The case will now be sent back to a lower court for review, marking a significant twist in a long and highly publicized legal battle that has captivated South Koreans for years.
Chey Tae-won, one of South Korea’s most powerful business figures, has led SK Group—one of the country’s largest conglomerates—with interests spanning telecommunications, energy, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. His ex-wife, Roh So-young, is the daughter of former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo, adding a strong political dimension to the case that has intrigued both the public and media.
The marriage, which lasted more than three decades, began to unravel in 2015 when Mr. Chey publicly admitted to fathering a child with another woman. The revelation led to a bitter divorce battle that culminated in a 2024 court ruling ordering him to pay his ex-wife the record-breaking settlement.
At the heart of the lower court’s decision was the claim that a 30 billion won ($22 million) slush fund allegedly linked to Ms. Roh’s father had contributed to the growth of SK Group and should therefore count as part of the couple’s joint assets. However, the Supreme Court disagreed, determining that the fund had originated from bribes illegally obtained during former president Roh Tae-woo’s administration and could not be legally recognized as marital property.
“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. Chey’s lawyer, Lee Jae-geun, following the ruling.
Despite the victory, the Supreme Court upheld a smaller portion of the judgment, requiring Chey to pay 2 billion won ($1.4 million) in alimony to Ms. Roh. The decision is expected to prolong the already protracted legal battle as the lower court revisits the case to reassess the asset division.
The stock market reacted swiftly to the news, with shares of SK Group dropping by 5.4% on Thursday, reflecting investor uncertainty over the ongoing legal proceedings. Nevertheless, analysts believe that an immediate shake-up at SK Group is unlikely, as Chey remains firmly in control of key subsidiaries, including SK Telecom, SK Innovation, and SK Square.
While the Supreme Court’s decision spares the tycoon from the massive $1 billion payout for now, it does not mark the end of his legal woes. The case remains under review, and South Koreans continue to watch closely as one of the nation’s most powerful families navigates the fallout of a scandal that has intertwined wealth, politics, and betrayal—cementing its place as the “divorce of the century.”
