South Korean Billionaire to Pay $1B Divorce Settlement

Facts

• Chey Tae-won, chairman of the South Korean conglomerate SK Group, has been ordered to pay his ex-wife Roh So-young 1.38T won (US$1B). This is the largest divorce settlement in the country's history.¹
• The High Court in Seoul also ordered Chey to give Roh a portion of his company stock shares, which brings the total settlement to an estimated 35% of his wealth. This overturns a previous lower court ruling that ordered him to pay 66.5B won and no company shares.²
• The high court ruled that 'as his wife,' Roh, whose father Roh Tae-woo is the former president of South Korea, 'played a role in increasing the value of SK Group and Chey’s business activity.' The couple first split following news that Chey fathered a child with another woman.³
• The court's ruling appears to be two-fold: first, it said Roh's political connections helped Chey's business, and secondly, that her father 'played the role of a protective shield' for former SK Group Chairman Chey Jong-hyon.¹
• As of Wednesday, Chey's 17.5% equity stake in the company was valued at 1.9T won. His net worth is valued at over 2T won.⁴
• SK Group, which operates in the semiconductor, telecoms, chemicals, and energy industries, is the second-most valuable company in South Korea. Shares of the company rose 9% following the ruling.³

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²CBS, ³KahawaTungu and ⁴South China Morning Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Korea Herald. Roh is legally owed a portion of the property she and Chey once held together, which means he must take his massive stake in the company — the largest of any shareholder — and turn it into cash for his now ex-wife. SK Group benefitted from its connection to Roh and her father, and this deserves to be recognized.
• Narrative B, as provided by Koreatimes. While Roh may currently expect to receive this unprecedentedly high divorce settlement, this biased and arbitrary ruling will certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court. With no evidence that the company profited from its ties to Roh, this ruling should never have been issued.