The chairman of South Korean corporate giant SK Group, Chey Tae-won, has been ordered by a court to pay his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, $644 million in a divorce settlement dubbed the 'divorce of the century.' This ruling marks the conclusion of a decade-long legal battle following the public breakdown of their 35-year marriage after Chey fathered a child with another woman.
The current award is a reduction from a previous 2024 ruling that had demanded 1.38 trillion won, a figure that was later challenged after the Supreme Court determined that funds originating from the ex-wife's father, former President Roh Tae-woo, were illegally obtained and could not be factored into the asset division.
SK Group, a massive family-owned conglomerate, remains a cornerstone of the South Korean economy, operating everything from telecommunications to energy.
The company recently gained significant global attention through its subsidiary, SK Hynix, a semiconductor powerhouse that has become a critical player in the artificial intelligence boom and recently achieved a record-breaking $26.5 billion share offering in New York.
While SK Group lawyers expressed regret over the public nature of the proceedings, the verdict underscores the immense financial stakes involved in the personal lives of the leaders behind the world's most influential tech conglomerates.
Tags
