"One Day's Interest Alone: 129.3 Million Won"... Will Chey Tae-won File a Further Appeal Over the 9.44 Billion Won Property Split?

[Financial News] On the 24th, in the retrial of the divorce property division case between Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Noh So-young, chair of Art Center Nabi, Seoul High Court Family Division 1 ruled that Chey must pay Noh the full 944 billion won in cash. The court also ordered him to pay 5% annual late-payment interest from the day after the ruling becomes final until the full amount is paid.
If this retrial ruling is finalized, Chey will have to pay Noh the 944 billion won in cash immediately. If payment is delayed, he could face late-payment interest of about 12.93 million won per day, or roughly 47.2 billion won a year.
That has led to speculation that Chey may appeal again to the Supreme Court of Korea. Even if the ruling is unlikely to be overturned, his side may file a further appeal to buy time to secure the property division payment through stock-backed loans and asset sales.
The ruling will become final if neither side appeals by midnight on the 7th of next month. However, if either side files an appeal, finalization will be delayed until the Supreme Court of Korea issues its final decision.
The legal fees for both parties are also expected to be substantial. Both sides hired major domestic law firms and prominent former judges and prosecutors during the litigation.
Chey retained lawyers from Kim & Chang and Yulchon LLC, as well as former Seoul High Court Chief Judge Hong Seung-myeon, who previously served as a senior and chief research judge and as head of the judicial support office at the Court Administration Office. Noh responded by hiring former Jeonju District Court Chief Judge Han Seung, who served as a senior and chief research judge at the Supreme Court of Korea and as head of judicial policy at the Court Administration Office, and former Board of Audit and Inspection chief Choi Jae-hyung, who previously served as chief judge of the Seoul Family Court.
Attorney fees in civil cases, including family law matters, are generally divided into an upfront retainer and a success fee. A success fee is paid when the client achieves the desired result. It is usually set at 3% to 7% of the amount won. However, in cases like this one, where the property division involves several hundred billion won, it is often reported that the success fee is negotiated down to around 1% to 2%.
Even 1% of the property division amount Noh is to receive would come to 9.44 billion won. If she pays her lawyers a 5% success fee, they would receive 47.2 billion won.
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter