Noh So-young "Confirming Divorce Before Property Division Is Unconstitutional"
Choi Tae-young "There Are Legal Violations, Prompt Resolution Needed"
Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, is reported to have repeatedly submitted a withdrawal of lawsuit along with an application for an extension certificate in his divorce lawsuit with No So-young, director of the Art Center Nabi, to the Supreme Court. No So-young's side criticized this as an "attempt to destroy the family," while Chairman Choi's side issued a statement rebutting the criticism.
According to the legal community on the 24th, Chairman Choi's side submitted a withdrawal of lawsuit to the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) the day before. Prior to this, on the 4th, they had submitted an application for a final certificate. Earlier, on June 21, Chairman Choi's side had submitted an application for a final certificate to the Family Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Si-cheol, Kim Ok-gon, and Lee Dong-hyun), which was rejected due to the court's decision of 'issuance not allowed.' This withdrawal of lawsuit is interpreted as an intention to finalize the divorce with Director No, while focusing on contesting only the division of property and the amount of alimony in the appellate trial.
No So-young's legal representatives strongly opposed this. They stated, "If a final certificate confirming the divorce is issued before the judgment on property division and alimony is finalized, it would be an act by the judiciary that neglects its constitutional duty to protect marriage and family life." They also claimed, "Chairman Choi's side is invoking the necessity of reporting under the Fair Trade Act related to No So-young's younger sibling to disguise their unconstitutional intentions. However, No Jae-heon, No So-young's younger brother, has been independently managing a corporation since 2004 after separating from the family and has never been incorporated into the affiliates. This is clearly a statement of false facts."
In response, Chairman Choi's legal representatives issued a rebuttal statement. They said, "The application for the final certificate is for the purpose of updating the family relations registry after the divorce is finalized, and especially in cases like Chairman Choi's, who holds the status of the same person under the Fair Trade Act, failure to do so could lead to legal violations, making prompt updating even more necessary."
They further argued, "Under the Fair Trade Act, relatives up to the third degree of kinship are considered special related parties and are subject to affiliate reporting. The East Asian Culture Center and the Roh Tae-woo Center are corporations established by Kim Ok-sook and No So-young, so they fall under the reporting requirements. The fact that No Jae-heon is separated from the family also requires updating after the divorce, according to expert opinions." They added, "In particular, the establishment and ownership relationships of companies related to the No family are opaque and difficult to accurately ascertain."
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