SK会长崔泰源被判赔前妻9440亿韩元，韩国史上最贵离婚案尘埃落定

Original Author: Zhang Yaqi

Original Source: Wall Street CN

A political and commercial marriage once hailed as the "wedding of the century" is ending in what is now Korea’s most expensive divorce.

On July 24, the Seoul High Court ruled: SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won must pay his ex-wife, Roh So-young, 944 billion won (approximately $643 million) in asset division. Thus, the most expensive divorce ruling in Korean judicial history was finalized.

The case has been ongoing for nearly a decade. From an initial trial ruling of $50 million in 2022, to the appellate court's near-$1 billion decision in 2024, and then a remand by the Supreme Court, it has finally settled on this figure.

The issue is not just "how much," but also whether Chey Tae-won will pay in cash, stocks, loans, or asset sales, and whether this will affect his control over SK Group. Analysts point out that to raise the funds for the settlement, Chey Tae-won may face options like taking out loans or selling assets, but his core control over SK Group is unlikely to be shaken in the short term.

The Wall Street Journal called it the "divorce of the century," while Bloomberg pressed immediately after the ruling on whether the payment would be in cash or stock. Headlines in foreign media were more direct—"A Real-Life Korean Drama: Money, Romance, Corruption, and Betrayal Intertwined."

But back in 1988, no one could have foreseen this.

The Blue House Wedding Defined the Marriage's Beginning

In 1988, shortly after the Seoul Olympics concluded and South Korea had just transitioned to democracy, President Roh Tae-woo's daughter, Roh So-young, was married. The venue was the Blue House, the presidential residence. The groom was Chey Tae-won, the nephew of SK Group's founder. Prime Minister Lee Hyun-jae officiated the wedding, and Korean media dubbed it the "wedding of the century."

The couple met while studying at the University of Chicago. This marriage bound together political power and a business empire—in that era of South Korea, such a union was itself a powerful signal.

The couple had three children. All three worked for SK subsidiaries after coming of age.

But in 2015, everything began to unravel.

The 2015 Open Letter Was More Than Just an Admission of Infidelity

In December 2015, Chey Tae-won published a three-page open letter in a Korean newspaper, admitting to a relationship with another woman and having a child with her.

He quoted the opening line of Tolstoy's *Anna Karenina*:

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

He stated that his 27-year marriage to Roh So-young was beyond repair, hoping to "end it cleanly."

The letter came just four months after he received a presidential pardon and was released from prison in August 2015. This was his second pardon.

Roh So-young’s reaction at the time was widely covered by Korean media. She reportedly told those close to her that perhaps she was too selfish and not understanding enough of her husband. Subsequently, she told the press:

"I will not divorce."

She eventually agreed to the divorce in 2019.

Twice Imprisoned, Twice Pardoned: The Other Side of Chey Tae-won

Before the divorce case became the focal point, Chey Tae-won had two earlier legal incidents.

In 2003, he was sentenced to three years in prison for illegal stock trading and accounting fraud. He was released on bail months later, the sentence was commuted to probation, and he subsequently received a presidential pardon that expunged his record. In 2013, he was sentenced to four years for embezzling approximately $42 million in company funds (to cover personal investment losses). The judge criticized him during the trial for "lacking a sincere recognition of his responsibilities."

Chey Tae-won denied the charges in court, claiming the transactions were legitimate corporate investments. "I don't know what else I haven't proven clearly, but I can honestly say I did not commit this crime."

While serving his sentence, he did two things: he consolidated his control over SK Holdings through a merger of two SK subsidiaries, and he wrote a 229-page book titled *A New Exploration: Social Enterprise*, discussing how the government could incentivize businesses to solve social problems.

In August 2015, he received his second presidential pardon. Four months later, he published the letter announcing the divorce.

In 2018, Chey Tae-won and his current partner, Kim Hee-young (English name Chloe, age 50), co-founded the T&C Foundation, which supports youth scholarships and educational programs. In 2019, the couple made their first public appearance together. At the event, Chey Tae-won said, "I reflected on the past and realized I have lived wrongly."

SK Hynix's AI Boom Reshaped the Divorce Price Tag

If SK Hynix hadn't ridden the AI wave, the settlement amount in this case might have been on a different scale.

SK Hynix is the world's leading supplier of HBM, a key hardware component for training large AI models. Since early 2025, SK Hynix's stock price has surged nearly tenfold. By the end of May, the company's market cap exceeded $1 trillion. On July 10, Chey Tae-won rang the opening bell at Nasdaq as SK Hynix completed its US listing, raising approximately $26 billion.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Chey Tae-won's personal net worth is roughly $5.6 billion, having more than doubled in a year. Last month, he shared a whiskey drinking session with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang at a fried chicken restaurant in Seoul, where Chey proactively offered to pay for the entire table. He has also met with Trump on the golf course, and President Biden publicly called him an "old friend" during his 2022 visit to South Korea.

These rapidly growing numbers directly impacted the direction of the divorce case. Roh So-young's side argued: The surge in SK Hynix's value was built upon foundations laid during the marriage, and splitting the assets based on the market value at the time of divorce was unfair to her. An updated valuation should be used.

The initial trial in 2022 awarded roughly $50 million. Roh So-young appealed, stating the ruling "denied the contributions of women to their families." In 2024, the appellate court changed the ruling to 35% of assets, which then equated to nearly $1 billion. Chey Tae-won's side argued that Roh So-young had not contributed to SK's recent success, and that the valuation should be calculated using pre-AI boom metrics.

After the Supreme Court remanded the case, on July 24, 2026, the Seoul High Court ruled on the amount of 944 billion won.

In What Form Will the Money Be Paid?

Bloomberg's core question on the day of the ruling was: Will the payment be in cash or stock? This directly concerns Chey Tae-won's control over SK Group.

Chey Tae-won directly holds a 17.9% stake in SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group. Citing analysts, Bloomberg reported that if the judgment amount is executed in cash, Chey Tae-won may need to take out large loans or sell some assets; but in the short term, SK Group's control structure is unlikely to be jeopardized.

The Overlooked Other Side: Roh So-young Is More Than Just an "Ex-Wife"

Roh So-young’s identity extends far beyond being a party to the divorce case.

She runs Art Center Nabi, South Korea’s first media art museum. The center was initially located inside SK's headquarters building. In 2023, an SK subsidiary, citing the expiration of the lease, accused the art center of "illegal occupation." In June of this year, she moved the art center to a location near Seoul’s old royal palace, with an inaugural exhibition titled "A Pregnant Pause."

She has given lectures at Cambridge University. When moving out of the home she lived in for 37 years last year, she posted old belongings on social media, including her wedding dress, handbags, and a poster of her parents' wedding made by her three children when they were young. The children had cut out their parents' photos, pasted them onto paper wedding dress and tuxedo, drawn hearts and stars beside them, and written "Love Actually."

In October 2024, Chey Tae-won and Roh So-young attended their youngest daughter's wedding together. The daughter walked down the aisle alone. Of their three children, only one still works for an SK subsidiary.

This Case Taps into Three Sensitive Nerves in Korean Society

The logic behind the ruling in this divorce case reflects several deep-seated issues in Korean society.

The relationship between the *chaebol* (conglomerates) and the judiciary is the first sensitive point. Chey Tae-won was twice imprisoned and twice received presidential pardons. Whether it was the illegal trading case in 2003 or the embezzlement case in 2013, both records were eventually expunged through pardons. This cycle was repeatedly highlighted while the divorce case was unfolding.

How to value marital contributions is the second point of contention. Evidence submitted by Roh So-young's legal team included arguments about whether the Roh Tae-woo administration provided special favors when SK secured South Korea's second mobile telecommunications license in 1992. Then-opposition leader Kim Dae-jung publicly criticized it as "a shameless act of presidential nepotism," and there was opposition within the ruling party as well. SK subsequently returned the license.

Roh So-young's side also submitted a handwritten note indicating that the Roh Tae-woo government had channeled 30 billion won (approximately $23 million) to SK. SK denied receiving the funds. However, the appellate court accepted the related evidence, ruling that Roh So-young had made "substantial contributions" to SK Group's development—a finding that directly influenced the division ratio in previous rulings.

The situation of women in elite marriages is the third perspective. After her husband publicly admitted to infidelity in 2015, Roh So-young’s first reaction was self-reflection rather than retaliation—"Am I too selfish?"—a statement that sparked a nationwide discussion in South Korea about women's roles in marriage.

How Many More Variables Remain After the Ruling?

The ruling of 944 billion won can still be appealed. But the bigger variables lie outside the courtroom.

The AI boom for SK Hynix shows no signs of ending. The company recently announced an additional investment of over $250 billion in South Korea to expand production, and President Lee Jae-myung called Chey Tae-won and the head of Samsung "heroes of the nation and the people."

If SK Hynix's stock price continues to rise, will Roh So-young demand a recalculation of the settlement amount based on updated market valuation? If Chey Tae-won is forced to sell shares to raise cash, what changes might occur in SK Group's equity structure?

The Wall Street Journal concluded its report by quoting Roh So-young's social media post from November last year. Upon moving out of her old home, she wrote: "Now that I'm past 60, everything has become precious."