Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, was ordered by the appellate court to pay 1.38 trillion KRW to No So-young, director of the Art Center Nabi, as property division following their divorce.
From the left, Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, and Noh So-young, Director of Art Center Nabi. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 30th, the Family Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Si-cheol, Kim Ok-gon, Lee Dong-hyun) ruled in the appeal trial of the divorce lawsuit between Chairman Choi and Director No, stating, "The plaintiff (Chairman Choi) shall pay the defendant (Director No) 2 billion KRW in alimony and 1.3808 trillion KRW as property division." This amount is a significant increase from the first trial in December 2022, which recognized 100 million KRW in alimony and 66.5 billion KRW in property division. Notably, the property division amount is the largest known to date.
The court estimated the total assets of the two parties at approximately 4.0115 trillion KRW and judged that Chairman Choi and Director No should divide the assets at 65% and 35%, respectively.
The court recognized Director No's contribution to the SK Inc. stocks owned by Chairman Choi, deeming them marital property. The court stated, "The SK stocks were acquired during the marriage period, and it is judged that a substantial amount of funds flowed from Roh Tae-woo to the plaintiff's father in 1991," adding, "Choi Jong-hyun played a shield role in the process of acquiring Taepyungyang Securities and entering the mobile communications business."
Regarding the calculation of alimony, the court pointed out, "Chairman Choi spent more than 21.9 billion KRW on maintainable parts such as his relationship with Kim Hee-young, chairman of the T&C Foundation, after separating from Director No, and also provided economic benefits that cannot be quantified," criticizing that "the alimony amount of the first trial, which calculated the mental distress caused by the breakdown of the marriage, was too low."
The court also criticized Chairman Choi, stating, "Although the marital relationship was not dissolved, from February 2019, he suspended credit cards and stopped cash living expenses support after the first trial ruling," and added, "During the lawsuit process, he did not show sincere remorse for his misconduct and displayed an attitude that does not respect monogamy at all."
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