Roh Soh-yeong attends mediation, Chey Tae-won absent in landmark property division case... another session to be held

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\r\n[Financial News] The mediation proceedings in the property division case between Roh Soh-yeong, head of Art Center Nabi, and Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, have officially begun. Roh attended the session, while Chey was absent. The court decided to hold one more mediation session on a day when Chey can attend.
Civil Division 1 (Family Affairs) of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Judge Lee Sang-joo, held a mediation session for Roh and Chey on the 13th.
Roh attended the session with her legal team. Wearing a black jacket and black skirt, she entered the court without answering reporters' questions, including whether the rise in SK shares, which have more than tripled, should also be reflected in the property division.
As this was the first mediation session, both sides listened to each other's positions and the hearing ended after about an hour.
After the mediation ended, Roh again declined to answer reporters' questions, including how she viewed the Supreme Court ruling that the 30 billion won in illicit funds could not be recognized as a contribution.
Chey did not appear in person and was represented only by his legal team.
The two sides plan to hold another mediation session and continue discussions. Since Chey did not attend this session, the court intends to proceed with mediation only when he is present in person.
Roh was reported to have spoken directly during this mediation session.
In future mediation proceedings, the court is expected to discuss the assets subject to division, including SK Inc. shares held by Chey, as well as Roh's level of contribution.
Chey and Roh married in September 1988 and had three children, but later separated. Chey filed for divorce mediation against Roh in July 2017, but the effort failed and the case moved to a formal lawsuit in February 2018. Roh then filed a counterclaim in December 2019, saying she would accept the divorce.
In December 2022, the first trial ruled that Chey must pay Roh 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in cash as property division. The second trial sharply increased the amount, ordering 2 billion won in alimony and 1.3808 trillion won in property division. This followed the reversal of the first-trial ruling that Chey's stake in SK Inc. was not subject to division. The appeals court also recognized former President Roh Tae-woo's intangible support for SK Group's successful management as Roh's contribution.
However, in October last year, the Supreme Court sent the case back for retrial, saying that the 30 billion won in former President Roh Tae-woo's slush fund was illicit money and could not be considered Roh's contribution to the property division, even if the funds flowed into SK.
The Supreme Court did, however, uphold the 2 billion won alimony award by rejecting the appeal on that part of the ruling.
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theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter