No So-young, director of Art Center Nabi (62), claimed that "Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group (63), has spent over 100 billion won on his cohabitant Kim Hee-young, chairperson of the T&C Foundation."
Kim's side responded, calling it "malicious and absurd fake news," and stated, "We will hold the lawyers legally responsible."
The Family Agreement Division 4 of the Seoul Family Court (Chief Judge Lee Kwang-woo) held a closed preliminary hearing on the 23rd for the lawsuit in which Director No is claiming 3 billion won in damages from Chairperson Kim.
After the trial, Director No's representative told reporters, "Even considering only since 2015 when Chairman Choi publicly acknowledged his relationship with Chairperson Kim, it has been identified that Chairman Choi spent over 100 billion won on Chairperson Kim."
He added, "I believe this amount is several times more than the money that Director No and her children lived on as a family through Chairman Choi's expenditures," and said, "As a representative, I was very surprised by the large amount."
Regarding the expenditure details, the representative said, "Some money went to the T&C Foundation, and some cash was directly transferred to relatives' accounts or paid by card."
The representative also said, "It seems that gift tax was not paid, so the defendant's side will need to provide an explanation," and added, "If the mistress gained significant benefits from the adultery, it should be considered in calculating damages in the divorce lawsuit."
He further rebutted Kim's side's claim that the statute of limitations for the damages claim had expired since Director No filed a counterclaim three years ago, saying, "Since the divorce has not yet been finalized, the statute of limitations cannot be considered to have started."
Meanwhile, in response to Director No's claims, Kim's side's representative issued a statement calling it fake news spread to gain an advantageous position in the property division with Chairman Choi, and said they would hold Director No's lawyers legally responsible.
Kim's representative stated, "Director No's side is blatantly violating current law by maliciously spreading false information as if their false claims were true, so the defendant's side must correct this by clarifying the facts. First, the claim of 100 billion won is completely baseless and false, and the assertion that it has been confirmed by evidence is also false."
He added, "This is not only defamation through clear falsehoods but also a criminal act that directly violates the Family Litigation Act, and the defendant's side has decided to strictly hold the responsible lawyers legally accountable."
The representative also said, "This case has been in a broken state for over a decade, with the parties living apart before proceeding to divorce litigation. Director No, who filed the counterclaim for divorce, has passed more than three years since filing, and only the amount of property division remains as an issue in the appeal. Despite clear Supreme Court precedents that such claims are legally impermissible, the lawsuit was filed to distort public opinion and gain an advantageous position in property division."
He continued, "For these reasons, this lawsuit has nothing to do with the damages claim and is distorting the facts by briefing the media about the false claim of 100 billion won in gifts. The defendant's side hopes that the truth will be revealed through the trial according to law and principles, and that the court's judgment will be made."
Chairman Choi and Director No married in September 1988, the first year of the late President Roh Tae-woo's inauguration, and had three children but later separated.
In 2015, Chairman Choi publicly confessed his relationship with Chairperson Kim and announced to the media that he would divorce Director No due to personality differences. After Chairman Choi applied for divorce mediation, the case eventually proceeded to litigation, and Director No, who opposed the divorce, filed a counterclaim in 2019.
Last December, the first trial accepted Director No's divorce claim and ordered Chairman Choi to pay 100 million won in damages and 66.5 billion won in cash for property division. The appeal trial is currently ongoing.
Subsequently, in March this year, Director No filed a lawsuit claiming 3 billion won in damages against Chairperson Kim, alleging that Kim caused the breakdown of the marriage and severe mental distress.
The formal trial for this lawsuit is scheduled for January 18 next year.
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