SK Chairman Ordered to Pay Ex-Wife $644M

A South Korean court has ordered SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won to pay 944bn won (£483m; $644m) to his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, in a divorce case that has been closely followed in the country.

The award, which still needs to be finalised, is lower than the 1.38tn won Chey was told to pay in an earlier ruling in 2024. The court’s decision comes more than a decade after Chey and Roh’s marriage, which lasted 35 years, ended following revelations that Chey had fathered a child with another woman.

Court order and amount

Roh’s legal team had sought a division of assets after the couple’s separation, arguing that Chey benefited from support linked to her father, Roh Tae-woo, who was president of South Korea between 1988 and 1993.

Under the latest court outcome, Chey has been instructed to pay Roh 944bn won, with the figure set out as part of asset division in the divorce proceedings.

Chey’s lawyers said after the verdict that Chey is “deeply sorry” that the case has caused concern, adding that they would set out a specific response after reviewing the ruling in detail.

Earlier ruling overturned at Supreme Court

In 2024, the court had determined that Roh Tae-woo gave Chey 30bn won from a slush fund in 1991. It then ordered Chey to pay Roh 1.38tn won as part of the divorce settlement.

However, the Supreme Court overturned the 2024 verdict last year, ruling that the slush funds had been illegally obtained and therefore could not be treated as part of the couple’s assets for the purpose of dividing property during the divorce.

That Supreme Court decision narrowed what could be considered in determining the settlement, leading to the renewed order now being reported by South Korean media.

SK Group ties and recent market momentum

SK Group is one of South Korea’s major family-run conglomerates, known as chaebols, which play a dominant role in the country’s economy.

The group began as a textile business in 1953 before expanding into multiple industries and becoming the second-largest chaebol after Samsung. Its businesses are present in everyday consumer life, including SK Telecom phone services and SK-branded fuel stations.

SK Group’s global profile has risen further through SK Hynix, its semiconductor arm. SK Hynix supplies chips to Nvidia and recently marked a record-setting debut on the US stock market.

As SK Hynix’s valuation climbed amid strong demand for AI-related chips, SK Group and Chey’s prominence have increased. In May, SK Hynix surpassed $1tn on the South Korean stock market. The company also raised $26.5bn in a New York share offering described as the largest listing by a foreign firm in the US.

In the latest developments around Chey’s public standing, President Lee Jae Myung last month praised Chey during the launch of a landmark AI investment plan, alongside Samsung chairman JY Lee, describing both as “Heroes of Korean People”.

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25 July 2026

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