A South Korean court on Friday ordered billionaire SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife 944 billion won ($640 million) in a case that the national media dubbed the “divorce of the century.”
The Seoul High Court’s ruling came months after the Supreme Court ordered further review by the appellate court of the divorce case between Chey and Roh So-yeong, the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo.
The award to Roh, the director of a Seoul art museum, was lower than a 1.38 trillion won ($940 million) settlement ordered by the high court last year. Chey also was previously ordered to pay 2 billion won ($1.3 million) in alimony.
The value of Chey’s assets increased in recent months. Shares of SK Hynix, SK’s semiconductor affiliate, have surged with the global artificial intelligence boom.
The high court’s previous ruling was based in part on its finding that Roh’s father provided SK with 30 billion won ($20.4 million) in alleged slush funds during his presidency. The Supreme Court, however, ruled the funds could not be recognized as a legal contribution to the company’s growth.
