Chey Tae-won Narrows Scope of Property-Division Appeal; Will Contest Only KRW 244 Billion Before Supreme Court

[Financial News] SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has decided to contest only KRW 244 billion, rather than the full KRW 944 billion, in his appeal to the Supreme Court of Korea in the property-division lawsuit involving Art Center Nabi Director Roh So-young. Chey’s side explained that it narrowed the scope of the appeal to issues that are difficult to accept as a matter of law, describing the decision as one made in consideration of the dispute’s prolonged duration.
According to legal circles on the 9th, Chey’s side submitted an application to change and reduce the scope of its appeal to the Family Division 1 of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Judge Lee Sang-joo, on the 31st of last month.
Chey’s side said, "We initially intended to contest the entire property-division amount, but since both the Supreme Court of Korea and the High Court have issued rulings, we decided to limit our challenge to the parts that are difficult to accept as a matter of law." It added, "This was a broad-minded decision that also took into account the fact that the dispute has continued for an excessively long time."
Accordingly, the Supreme Court of Korea is expected to review only the remaining KRW 244 billion, while the approximately KRW 700 billion portion of the KRW 944 billion property-division award will no longer be contested.
Earlier, on July 24, the Seoul High Court ruled in the remand proceedings that Chey must pay Roh KRW 944 billion in property division. In line with the Supreme Court of Korea’s instructions on remand, the court did not recognize the claim that KRW 30 billion in slush funds from the late former President Roh Tae-woo contributed to SK Group’s growth.
However, the court deemed the SK shares held by Chey to be marital property acquired during the marriage and included them in the assets subject to division. It set April 16, 2024—the date the arguments concluded in the appellate trial before the case was remanded—as the valuation date for the shares. The court determined the property-division ratio to be one-third for Roh and two-thirds for Chey.
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter