SK Group Chairman Chi Tae-won has been ordered to pay his ex-wife Roh Suh-young $644 million in divorce settlement, and court upholds claim over marital assets.

A South Korean appeals court on Friday ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife, Roh Suh-young, 944 billion won (about $644 million) in cash as part of a long-standing divorce property settlement, while reiterating that Chey’s SK shares form part of the couple’s marital assets.According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, the Seoul High Court reduced the settlement from the 1.38 trillion won it ruled in its previous ruling after the Supreme Court ordered it to recalculate the division ratio. Even after the reduction, the amount is still about 14 times higher than the original 66.5 billion won awarded by the lower court.

The court says that both contributed to building Corona’s wealth

The court said in its ruling that the stocks that Chi owned during the marriage were marital property because both spouses contributed to building and increasing their value.“The stocks owned by President Xi are assets acquired in President Xi’s name during the marriage, and President Xi and Administrator Roh have contributed to shaping them, maintaining and increasing their value.”The court added that while the business decisions made by Chi greatly increased the value of the company, Roh also contributed through housekeeping, raising children and carrying out outside activities related to SK Group.

Payment in cash instead of SK shares

The court ordered that Roh receive the settlement in full in cash, allowing Qi to retain ownership of his shares in SK.“President Xi will continue to hold his shares in SK, and the deficiency in Director Roh’s share will be paid in cash,” the ruling said.The decision reflects concerns that the transfer of the company’s shares could affect Chi’s management control over SK Group, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates.

The Supreme Court ruling changed the calculus

The property division came after a Supreme Court order to reconsider how the couple’s assets are valued. The Supreme Court ruled that alleged illicit funds amounting to 30 billion won linked to Roh’s father, former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, could not be considered a contribution to the creation of SK Group’s assets.However, the Court of Appeal took into account the sharp rise in SK’s share price since the previous hearing, noting that Roh’s contributions also played a role in the company’s long-term growth.“We considered that Administrator Roh’s management contributions played a role in increasing the value of President Xi’s shares,” the court said.

The legal battle may never end

Last year, the South Korean Supreme Court finalized the couple’s divorce proceedings, along with awarding separate alimony worth 2 billion won. Only the issue of division of property was brought back for reconsideration.Both Chee and Roh reserve the right to appeal Friday’s ruling. If either party appeals the decision, the case will go back to the Supreme Court.After the ruling, Xi’s legal team said it would issue a detailed response after reviewing the written ruling, while Roh’s lawyers left the courtroom without commenting.