SEOUL, July 24 : A South Korean court is due to rule on Friday on how much SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won must pay his former wife, Roh Soh-yeong, in a high-profile divorce case that has drawn attention to the billionaire’s stake in the country’s second-largest conglomerate.
The Seoul High Court is scheduled to deliver its ruling on the division of assets at 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT), nine months after the Supreme Court sent the case back for reconsideration. The divorce itself and 2 billion won ($1.36 million) in damages have already been finalised, leaving only the amount of asset settlement in dispute.
The ruling comes as SK Group’s international profile has risen sharply on the back of the AI boom. Chip affiliate SK Hynix has become a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used with Nvidia’s AI processors, making the company one of the biggest beneficiaries of surging demand for advanced semiconductors.
That has increased investor focus on Chey’s 17.9 per cent stake in SK Inc, the group’s holding company, and whether a large cash award could force him to raise funds through borrowing, asset sales or share pledges.
SK Hynix’s recent Nasdaq listing of American Depositary Receipts has also broadened overseas attention on SK-linked equities.
A lower court in 2022 ordered Chey to pay Roh 66.5 billion won, excluding his SK shares, which it viewed as inherited separate property.
An appeals court in 2024 raised the award to 1.38 trillion won ($934.79 million), recognising Roh’s contribution at 35 per cent and finding that support from her father, former President Roh Tae-woo, had helped SK’s growth.
The Supreme Court overturned only the property-division portion last October and sent it back to the Seoul High Court, saying that even if 30 billion won in alleged funds from the former president had reached SK, money originating from funds received during his presidency could not be treated as a legally protected contribution.
Legal attention is focused on the valuation date for SK shares, whose price has climbed sharply since the earlier appeal.
A lower award could ease funding pressure on Chey, while a trillion-won-level order could raise questions over financing and the risk to management control.
The case could return to the Supreme Court if either side challenges the Seoul High Court’s ruling.
($1 = 1,466.1000 won)
