South Korea Tycoon Escapes Paying $1 Billion in ‘Divorce of the Century’

South Korea’s Supreme Court has overturned a landmark ruling ordering billionaire Chey Tae-won, chairman of the powerful SK Group, to pay his ex-wife Roh So-young a record-breaking ₩1.38 trillion (US$1 billion) in what local media dubbed the “divorce of the century.”

The court said the lower court had miscalculated the value of the couple’s assets, and has ordered the case to be re-examined.

The high-profile divorce has captivated South Korea for years, as it involves two influential figures — Chey, the head of one of the country’s largest conglomerates, and Roh, the daughter of former President Roh Tae-woo.

Their marriage collapsed in 2015 after Chey publicly admitted to fathering a child with another woman.

In 2024, a Seoul court ordered Chey to pay the historic ₩1.38 trillion settlement, partly because it ruled that a ₩30 billion slush fund from Roh’s father had contributed to SK Group’s growth and could be considered part of the couple’s shared wealth.

However, on Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected that reasoning, ruling that the slush fund “appeared to have originated from bribes illegally received” by the former president and therefore could not be treated as joint marital property.

“It is very significant that the Supreme Court clearly declared it was wrong to recognize that as a contribution to the couple’s joint property,” said Chey’s lawyer, Lee Jae-geun.

While Chey was cleared of the record payout, the court upheld a ₩2 billion (US$1.45 million) alimony payment to his ex-wife.

Following the verdict, SK Group shares fell by 5.4% amid investor concerns over continued legal uncertainty.

Analysts, however, believe that the ruling is unlikely to trigger immediate leadership changes at the conglomerate, as Chey remains firmly in control of its core subsidiaries — including SK Telecom, SK Square, and SK Innovation.

The SK Group empire spans sectors such as telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors, making it one of South Korea’s most influential business entities.