SK Group Billionaire Chey Tae-won’s $1 Billion Divorce Settlement Thrown Out by South Korea’s Supreme Court

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The dramatic divorce saga involving South Korean billionaire Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the powerful SK Group conglomerate, has taken a stunning turn. The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a lower court’s order for Chey to pay his ex-wife, Roh So-young, a massive 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion) settlement, in a case dubbed by local media as the “divorce of the century.”

The top court cited a fundamental miscalculation that inflated the value of the couple’s joint assets and ordered the case to be reviewed by the lower court. The high-profile case, which has gripped the nation due to Chey’s corporate stature and Roh’s lineage as the daughter of former President Roh Tae-woo, originally centered on Roh’s alleged contribution to the growth of SK Group.

In 2024, the Seoul court ruled the settlement—the largest in South Korean history at the time—was warranted, arguing that a 30 billion won slush fund provided by Roh’s father had contributed to the group’s success and could be counted toward the joint marital assets.

However, the Supreme Court today explicitly rejected this premise. The court ruled that the slush fund “appeared to have originated from bribes illegally received” by the former president, and therefore, could not be legally recognized as part of the couple’s assets eligible for division.

“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 Chey’s lawyer, Lee Jae-geun.

Despite overturning the asset division, the Supreme Court upheld a 2 billion won alimony payment for Ms. Roh. The ongoing legal turmoil stems from the couple’s marriage unraveling in 2015 after Mr. Chey publicly admitted to fathering a child with his lover.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, shares of SK fell 5.4% on Thursday. Analysts noted the decline was driven by the ruling’s effect of prolonging Chey’s legal battle rather than immediate financial risk.

Chey, whose SK Group spans telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors, controls key subsidiaries like SK Telecom and SK Innovation. Analysts believe a short-term shake-up at the conglomerate is unlikely, as the billionaire is not immediately forced to raise funds for a settlement. The case now returns to a lower court to be re-evaluated based on the Supreme Court’s strict parameters.