Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 24
Seoul Court Orders Chey Tae-won to Pay $644 Million in Record Divorce Case
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 24

Seoul Court Orders Chey Tae-won to Pay $644 Million in Record Divorce Case

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 24

Summary

  • 944 billion won — about $644 million — was awarded to Roh Soh-yeong by a Seoul appeals court in one of South Korea’s largest divorce settlements.
  • The court said Chey Tae-won’s shares rose sharply during the marriage through his business activities, but Roh contributed through household management, child-rearing and external work tied to SK Group.
  • The payout fell well short of Roh’s original demand for nearly half of Chey’s fortune, which Forbes estimated at $5.3 billion, leaving her without a larger claim on wealth inflated by the AI boom.
  • Chey, chairman of SK Group and SK Hynix, still has one final week to appeal to the Supreme Court, so the yearslong dispute may not yet be over.

Insights

Why did a South Korean court erase billions from a former first daughter's historic divorce settlement?
How will a massive $644 million divorce payout impact the control of South Korea's most powerful tech conglomerate?