SK Group Chairman's 'Century Divorce' Finalized: Ex-Wife Receives $640 million, Missing Out on Nearly $300 million

According to Dongchak Beating monitoring, the Seoul High Court in South Korea has made a final ruling on SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's divorce settlement. Chey Tae-won is required to pay his ex-wife, Choo Su-kyung, 9.44 trillion South Korean won, approximately $6.4 billion.

This amount is 4.368 trillion won less than the second-instance ruling in 2024, representing a decrease of about 32%. The divorce and emotional distress compensation had already been finalized, with this ruling specifically addressing the property division.

Previously, in the second-instance ruling, a sum of money allegedly linked to Choo Su-kyung's father, former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, was considered her contribution to SK's wealth. The South Korean Supreme Court deemed this money ineligible for legal protection, leading to the overturning of the property division part of the ruling and a retrial was ordered.

In the retrial, the court still included Chey Tae-won's SK Holdings shares as marital assets but recalculated the total assets and both parties' contributions. Choo Su-kyung ultimately received one-third of the assets.

The court used the asset prices from April 2024 and did not directly consider the latest stock valuation post the AI boom. Chey Tae-won can retain his shares and make a cash payment. Both parties still have the option to appeal again.