![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/353589.jpg\" "\\"This")
<\/p>\nSEOUL, July 24 \u2014 A South Korean court ordered an AI chip-manufacturing tycoon today to make a trimmed-down US$644 million (RM2.6 billion) divorce payment to his former wife.<\/p>\n
Chey Tae-won, 65, is the chairman of the SK Group, which owns world-leading memory chipmaker SK Hynix \u2014 a pillar of South Korea\u2019s tech-led economy.<\/p>\n
Seoul High Court in 2024 had told him to pay 1.38 trillion won (RM3.8 billion) to his ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong, daughter of a former South Korea president.<\/p>\n
The sum \u2014 equal to more than US$1 billion (RM4.09 billion) at the exchange rate at the time of the ruling \u2014 led local media to dub it the \u201cdivorce of the century\u201d.<\/p>\n
Chey appealed to the Supreme Court, which told the high court to reconsider its 2024 decision and led to the tycoon\u2019s reduced divorce bill of 944 billion won (US$644 million).<\/p>\n
The settlement is not yet final, however, as either side may refer it back to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The acrimonious case centres on the definition and valuation of the couple\u2019s shared assets, including Chey\u2019s lucrative stake in the SK Group.<\/p>\n
Seoul High Court ruled today that Roh was entitled to a cash payout worth one-third of the couple\u2019s marital assets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defendant\u2019s shareholdings increased substantially during the marriage through his management activities,\u201d the court said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plaintiff contributed to that increase through homemaking, childcare and public-facing activities related to SK Group.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Chey\u2019s lawyers told reporters the tycoon \u201cdeeply regrets the concern caused\u201d by the case, but has not yet decided whether to appeal.<\/p>\n
Roh\u2019s legal team declined to comment to AFP.<\/p>\n
Chey and Roh married in 1988, but the couple are believed to have lived apart for more than 15 years. In 2015, he admitted to fathering a child with his lover.<\/p>\n
With SK hynix selling vital memory chips to AI computing company Nvidia, Chey\u2019s stake is now worth roughly US$5.5 billion, according to regulatory filings and public data.<\/p>\n
Roh, 65, has three children with Chey and has built a career in the cultural space, running a digital art museum.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This picture taken on June 26, 2026 shows Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Centre Nabi, arriving at a court to attend her retrial regarding the division of assets with her former husband SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won at the Seoul High Court in Seoul. \u2014 Yonhap\/AFP pic<\/p>\n
Bribes\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pair were wed in Seoul\u2019s presidential Blue House when her father Roh Tae-woo led the country from 1988 to 1993.<\/p>\n
They have battled over the split in the courts since 2022, after Chey filed for divorce in 2017 and mediation broke down.<\/p>\n
The court\u2019s original 2024 ruling ordering the payout to Roh cited a 30 billion won slush fund her ex-president father used to propel SK Group\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n
The court said at the time that could be counted as her contribution towards the couple\u2019s shared assets.<\/p>\n
But in October, the Supreme Court quashed that argument, saying that any such cash likely stemmed from illegal bribes and therefore should not be counted.<\/p>\n
Another question was whether the dramatic increase in SK Group\u2019s value since the couple\u2019s separation, on the cusp of the AI boom, should be reflected in the asset division.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court took into account the sharp rise in the value of the defendant\u2019s shareholdings when determining the property division ratio,\u201d today\u2019s court statement said.<\/p>\n
SK Group shares have more than tripled in value since December 2015, when Chey publicly disclosed his extramarital affair.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court had already separately ordered Chey to make an alimony payment to Roh of 2 billion won. \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n
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