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The Seoul High Court ruling trims the previous 1.38 trillion won award from 2024 to 944 billion won, or about $644 million, while upholding a separate 2 billion won alimony payment and the couple’s divorce itself, according to the Korea Herald. Yonhap News Agency reported that the decision followed failed mediation sessions earlier in the year after the Supreme Court remanded the matter in October 2025. Chey Tae-won’s legal representatives stated that the chairman was deeply sorry the proceedings had caused concern to many people and would issue a specific response after reviewing the verdict in detail. The adjustment stems from the top court’s determination that funds traced to Roh Soh-yeong’s father could not factor into the asset split.
Reuters reported that South Korea’s Supreme Court partially overturned the prior high court decision last October because the 30 billion won from former President Roh Tae-woo’s slush fund in 1991 was obtained illegally and could not count toward marital assets. The couple’s marriage lasted 35 years before unravelling publicly in 2015 when Chey admitted to fathering a child with another woman, prompting Roh to file for divorce. An initial family court ruling in 2022 had set a much lower property division of 66.5 billion won, which the appeals level later increased substantially before the latest revision. The case has repeatedly returned to court as both sides contested the valuation of Chey’s holdings in the conglomerate.
Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi and daughter of the late president who served from 1988 to 1993, argued her family’s political connections helped SK Group’s early expansion, a point partially weighed in earlier proceedings according to Bloomberg. The pair met while pursuing doctorates in economics at the University of Chicago and wed in 1988 at the Blue House, going on to raise three children. Chey filed for divorce in 2017 citing an inability to sustain two households after the affair became public. Court records examined across multiple levels have focused on the extent of Roh’s indirect contributions during the chaebol’s growth phase.
Korea Fair Trade Commission data placed SK Group’s total assets at 422 trillion won as of early 2026, confirming its position as the country’s second-largest chaebol behind only Samsung. The group, which began as a textile manufacturer in 1953, now spans semiconductors through SK Hynix, telecommunications, energy and more, with SK Hynix surpassing a 1 trillion dollar market capitalisation at points during the artificial intelligence boom according to company disclosures. SK Hynix supplies memory chips to Nvidia and completed a record 26.5 billion dollar share offering on the New York exchange last year. Fortune noted that the prolonged divorce litigation has raised questions about potential restructuring to protect shareholder value at the heavily indebted conglomerate.
Shares in SK Inc fell more than 5 percent following the Supreme Court remand last October as investors weighed possible asset sales to cover any payout, Bloomberg figures show. The reduced award announced Friday eases some immediate pressure on Chey, whose personal wealth remains closely linked to his stake in the holding company. A Nikkei Asia report from 2023 observed that such high-profile chaebol family disputes often spotlight tensions between personal claims and corporate control structures. The Council on Foreign Relations has documented how similar cases over the past two decades have intensified scrutiny of governance practices within these family-run empires.
The Korea JoongAng Daily reported that a June 2026 mediation attempt between the parties collapsed after roughly 90 minutes, returning the matter to formal hearings that produced Friday’s outcome. Chey, now in his mid-60s, continues to lead SK Group amid its global expansion in advanced technologies. The episode, summarised by some international coverage under the description “Tech titan ordered to pay ex-wife $644m in divorce settlement”, continues to highlight intersections of business, politics and family in South Korean society.
