Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (left) and Noh So-young, Director of Art Center Nabi. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] No Soyoung, director of Art Center Nabi, who is undergoing a divorce lawsuit with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, has appealed after being awarded only about 66.5 billion KRW in property division in the first trial.
On the morning of the 19th, No's side submitted an appeal to the Family Division 2 of the Seoul Family Court, the first trial court for the divorce lawsuit (Chief Judge Kim Hyunjung), stating, "We completely disagree with the judgment."
The legal representatives stated, "It is difficult to accept the judgment that SK shares owned by Chairman Chey are 'separate property' and thus excluded from property division." They added, "Those shares were not inherited or gifted to Chairman Chey by his predecessor, Chey Jong-hyun. They were purchased during the marriage period in 1994 for 280 million KRW, and since then, the value has increased to over 3 trillion KRW through Chairman Chey's management activities."
They further emphasized, "No Soyoung cooperated through her support during the value formation process," and stated, "It is hard to accept the legal reasoning that a full-time housewife's support and household labor alone cannot be grounds for dividing business assets such as stocks. We also cannot accept the part of the judgment that decided company management should not be influenced by marital disputes, nor the part stating that excessive economic impact on corporate stakeholders should be avoided."
On the 6th, the first trial court accepted the divorce lawsuit filed by No Soyoung against Chairman Chey and ruled, "The two shall divorce," ordering "Chairman Chey to pay 100 million KRW in alimony and 66.5 billion KRW in property division to No Soyoung." However, the SK shares held by Chairman Chey, which No requested, were not included in the property division.
The court explained at the time, "It is difficult to see that No Soyoung substantially contributed to the formation, maintenance, and value increase of the SK shares, so they were judged as 'separate property' and excluded from the property division." It added, "Only shares of affiliates held by Chairman Chey, real estate, retirement benefits, deposits, and No Soyoung's assets were subject to division." The court further stated, "The amount of property division was determined by comprehensively considering the course and duration of the marriage and the circumstances of the formation of the property subject to division."
Previously, Chairman Chey and No Soyoung married in September 1988 at the Blue House during the first year of former President Roh Tae-woo's inauguration and had three children but later separated.
Chairman Chey publicly revealed the existence of an extramarital child in 2015 and announced his intention to divorce No Soyoung. In July 2017, he filed for divorce mediation, initiating formal legal proceedings. After mediation failed, the official lawsuit began in February 2018.
No Soyoung, who opposed the divorce, filed a counterclaim against Chairman Chey in December 2019, demanding 300 million KRW in alimony and half of the 12,975,472 SK shares held by Chairman Chey?6,487,736 shares?as part of the property division.
No Soyoung also applied for a provisional injunction to prohibit the disposal of the shares until the divorce and property division lawsuit was concluded. The court partially accepted No's application and prohibited Chairman Chey from disposing of 3.5 million shares.
Throughout the trial, Chairman Chey's side argued that the shares originated from SK affiliate shares gifted or inherited from his father, former Chairman Chey, and thus should be considered separate property. Separate property refers to assets owned by one spouse before marriage or acquired in their name during the marriage and is generally not subject to division.
On the other hand, No Soyoung's side has argued that in long-term marriages, assets gifted or inherited by a spouse should be considered joint property. They contended that since Chairman Chey became the largest shareholder of SK through the merger with SK C&C (formerly Korea Telecom) after marriage, the assets should be regarded as formed during the marriage.
The Supreme Court views a divorced spouse's claim for property division as having a supportive character to maintain the other party's livelihood after divorce but fundamentally aims to settle joint property formed through mutual cooperation during the marriage.
Furthermore, even if the property was formed based on inherited wealth, if it is recognized that the spouse's household labor and support contributed to its acquisition and maintenance, it can be subject to property division.
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