Choi Tae-won: "Estranged for Over a Decade... Noh So-young's One-Sided Claims Fuel Hatred"

No So-young, director of Art Center Nabi, attended the second trial hearing of the divorce lawsuit with Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, held on the 9th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, criticized Noh So-young, director of Art Center Nabi, who is in the midst of a divorce lawsuit, for provoking hatred with one-sided claims.

Choi's legal representative stated in a press release on the 12th, "It is embarrassing that one-sided positions are being shared with the media to gain a favorable conclusion in the final remaining property division trial, causing controversy," and added, "We express deep regret over the deliberate act of shifting the issues between the parties involved in the court dispute to third parties to incite public hatred."

In an interview with the media the previous day, Director Noh said about Kim Hee-young, chairman of the T&C Foundation and Choi's cohabitant, "Those who break up someone else's family must be punished." The first trial court accepted Noh's divorce claim in December last year, ordering Choi to pay 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in cash for property division to Noh, but both parties appealed the decision.

Choi's side stated, "The marital relationship with Director Noh had already completely broken down long before meeting new people, and for over ten years, they were only formally married with mutual distrust remaining, living as strangers. Currently, both parties have filed claims seeking divorce, and the first trial court ruled for the divorce."

They continued, "It is inappropriate to cause social controversy over personal matters, and we ask for understanding that we cannot provide detailed comments due to the appellate court's request," adding, "We apologize to the public for causing controversy during a critical time with various pressing issues."

The representative also conveyed that Chairman Choi is currently on a business trip abroad and that this statement was made regarding recent media reports about Director Noh.