 |
Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Seoul, October 9 – South Korea’s Supreme Court is expected to issue a long-awaited ruling as early as this month or next on the divorce lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his estranged wife, Noh So-young, director of the Art Center Nabi.
Dubbed the “divorce trial of the century”, the case has drawn intense attention not only for its scale — with the size of the property division swinging from ₩66.5 billion (US$48 million) in the first trial to ₩1.38 trillion (US$1 billion) on appeal — but also for its potential impact on SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate.
Supreme Court Deliberation Underway
According to legal and industry sources, the Supreme Court held a full bench conference on September 18 to deliberate the key issue: whether the appellate court’s record-breaking division of assets was appropriate.
The court is reportedly aiming for a ruling before year-end.
Unlike most family law cases that are swiftly dismissed without a full hearing, this appeal has stretched for more than a year due to the complex and unprecedented nature of the appellate decision.
Some legal experts suggest the prolonged deliberation signals a high possibility of remand for retrial, given the number of disputed legal points.
Key Legal Disputes: “Separate Property” and Alleged Slush Funds
The core issue lies in whether Chey’s holdings in SK Inc. should be classified as “separate property” inherited from his late father, former SK Chairman Chey Jong-hyon, and thus excluded from the marital estate.
The lower court agreed with that position, ruling that the inherited shares were Chey’s personal assets.
However, the appellate court reached the opposite conclusion — determining that funds linked to former President Roh Tae-woo’s political slush fund were involved in SK’s early capitalization, and that Noh had contributed indirectly to the formation of SK’s core assets.
That ruling inflated the property division amount by nearly 20 times, setting a record for divorce settlements in South Korea.
The appeals court’s acceptance of the alleged ₩30 billion slush fund claim was based in part on a handwritten note by Noh’s late mother reading “Sunkyung ₩30 billion,” and a photo of an SK promissory note — evidence now under intense scrutiny at the Supreme Court.
Chey’s legal team has dismissed the claims as “unfounded,” insisting that no such slush fund existed and that Noh’s contribution to SK’s corporate growth was “nonexistent.”
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
