Choi Tae-won and Noh So-young Divorce Appeal Trial Verdict Scheduled for Next Month 30 (Comprehensive)

Noh So-young "Cannot Turn Back Lost Family and Time"

The final hearing of the second trial in the divorce lawsuit between Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Noh So-young, director of Art Center Nabi, has concluded.

The Family Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Si-cheol, Kim Ok-gon, Lee Dong-hyun) held the second hearing of the appeal trial between Chairman Choi and Director Noh at 2 p.m. on the 16th. Following the first hearing held on the 12th of last month, where both Chairman Choi and Director Noh were present, they entered the court together again for the final hearing today. At that time, the two faced each other in court for the first time in about six years since the mediation session held at the Seoul Family Court on January 16, 2018.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK and Director Noh So-young of Art Center Nabi attended the divorce appeal trial held on the afternoon of the 16th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. On the left is Chairman Chey attending the court, and on the right is Director Noh leaving the courtroom after the trial.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Director Noh arrived at the court first around 1:52 p.m. When asked by reporters, "What part do you plan to argue last as the appeal trial concludes today?" and "Why did you increase the amount of property division in the appeal trial?" she responded with a faint smile and headed into the courtroom.

Shortly after, Chairman Choi appeared around 1:57 p.m. When reporters asked him to share his thoughts before the conclusion of the appeal trial, he briefly replied, "I will do well and come out," and entered the courtroom.

The trial lasted about 1 hour and 47 minutes. After the trial, Director Noh told reporters, "Today was a comprehensive closing argument, so I argued all aspects comprehensively."

She continued, "I express my gratitude and respect to the judges who conducted the trial meticulously and thoroughly. Although we cannot restore the lost family and time, I hope this case becomes an opportunity for the value of family and social justice to stand." She then added, "I will devote myself to this matter with all my efforts in the rest of my life," before leaving the court.

She did not respond to reporters' questions about her thoughts on the opposing party's claim that her contribution to the formation of SK shares was less than 1%.

No So-young, director of Art Center Nabi, is answering reporters' questions after the appeal trial of her divorce case held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 16th.
[Photo by Lee Sung-min]

On the other hand, Chairman Choi said, "The lawyers have said everything," and left the court earlier than Director Noh without making any further statements. Unlike Director Noh, who exited through the same entrance she used to enter the court, Chairman Choi left through a different route.

The court plans to hold the sentencing hearing on the 30th of next month.

In the first trial on December 2022, the court accepted Director Noh's divorce petition and ordered Chairman Choi to pay her 100 million KRW in alimony and 66.5 billion KRW in cash as property division. Chairman Choi's divorce petition was dismissed, but the court did not recognize 50% of the SK shares held by Chairman Choi that Director Noh requested, citing no contribution to the asset formation process.

Subsequently, both Director Noh and Chairman Choi appealed. Director Noh argued that she could not accept the first trial's ruling that business assets such as shares could not be divided. Chairman Choi accepted the property division amount of 66.5 billion KRW but did not agree with the 100 million KRW alimony and the dismissal of his divorce petition.

During the preparation for the appeal trial, Director Noh also changed the claim amount to 2.003 trillion KRW in cash. It was speculated that she decided to choose a fixed cash amount instead of the originally requested share division.