Chey Tae-won, Roh So-young Property Division After 9 Years… Final Ruling on SK Stock Inclusion

A ruling in the retrial of the property division lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh So-young is set to take place on the 24th at the Seoul High Court. It marks the conclusion of the case approximately nine years after Chairman Chey filed for divorce mediation in July 2017. In the two previous mediation sessions, the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

The lower court did not consider SK shares as subject to division, but the appellate court ruled that Director Roh contributed to the formation of the stock value and calculated the property division amount at 1.3808 trillion won. The Supreme Court remanded the property division portion, ruling that 30 billion won in slush funds from former President Roh Tae-woo was illegal money and could not be recognized as a contribution, while confirming the 2 billion won in alimony and the fact of divorce.

The key issues in the retrial are whether the SK shares held by Chairman Chey will be divided as joint property and how Director Roh’s contribution will be evaluated. SK's stock price surged around the close of the retrial arguments, making the timing for calculating the value a critical variable.

If either side is dissatisfied with today's ruling, they can appeal to the Supreme Court.