The chairman of South Korean corporate giant SK Group has been ordered by a court to pay his ex-wife 944bn won (£483m; $644m), a decision local media has dubbed the ‘divorce of the century.’ The ruling, however, is still pending finalisation.

A Drop from Initial Award

The amount is lower than the initial 1.38tn won awarded to Roh Soh-yeong in 2024. The case has spanned more than a decade since the dissolution of the marriage between Chey and Roh, who is the daughter of a former president.

The couple’s relationship ended following the revelation that Chey had fathered a child with another woman; Roh had previously argued that Chey’s success was partly due to support from her father, former president Roh Tae-woo.

Legal History and Court Rulings

During the 2024 trial. Roh’s legal team successfully demonstrated that Chey had received significant support from Roh Tae-woo, who served as South Korea’s president between 1988 and 1993; the court found that the former president had given Chey 30bn Korean won from a slush fund in 1991.

Based on that evidence. The court initially ordered Chey to pay 1.38tn won to his ex-wife. However, last year the Supreme Court overturned the verdict, ruling that the slush funds were illegally obtained and therefore could not be included in the couple’s asset division.

Chey’s legal representatives expressed regret over the proceedings, stating that the chairman is deeply sorry for the concern caused. They added that a detailed response to the latest ruling will be shared after a thorough review of the decision.

SK Group and Its Global Influence

SK Group is one of South Korea’s largest chaebols—family-owned conglomerates that play a central role in the country’s economy. The company, which started as a textile business in 1953, now operates in a wide range of industries, including telecommunications and energy.

SK Telecom provides mobile services to South Korean consumers, while SK operates petrol stations nationwide. The group gained international attention through its subsidiary SK Hynix, a semiconductor company that supplies chips to major tech firms like Nvidia.

In May, the company’s market value surpassed $1tn, highlighting the growing global influence of South Korean technology. SK Hynix recently made a record-setting debut on the US stock market.

SK Group also raised $26.5bn in a New York share offering, marking the largest ever listing by a foreign firm in the US. The company’s rising profile was further showed when South Korean President Lee Jae Myung praised Chey during the revealing of a major AI investment plan, calling him and Samsung’s JY Lee ‘Heroes of Korean People.’