In a case dubbed the “divorce of the century” by local media, South Korea’s Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s judgment requiring millionaire Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife a 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion; £788 million) settlement. It has ordered the matter to be reconsidered, citing an error in calculation that raised the worth of the couple’s assets.
Given that Mr. Chey is the leader of the influential SK Group conglomerate and that Roh So-young, his ex-wife, is the daughter of a former president, the matter has engulfed South Korea. After Mr. Chey acknowledged having a child with his partner, the marriage fell apart in 2015. In 2024, a court in Seoul’s capital determined the 1.38 trillion won payout. At the time, it was regarded as the biggest divorce settlement in South Korea’s history.
According to the court, Ms. Roh’s father, former president Roh Tae-woo, had contributed 30 billion won to a slush fund, which helped SK Group grow and could be regarded as her share of the couple’s joint assets.
The Supreme Court said on Thursday that the slush fund could not be regarded as part of the couple’s assets because it “appeared to have originated from bribes illegally received” by the former president.
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