Chey Tae-won to Sell 944 Billion Won Stake in SK in Preparation for Property Division Payment to Roh So-young (Comprehensive)

[Financial News] Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, will sell part of his stake in SK, the group's holding company, to raise the 944 billion won needed for his property division lawsuit. Even after the sale, Chey is expected to remain the largest shareholder. His voting stake, including shares held by specially related parties, will also remain above 30%, so the transaction is not expected to affect management stability. 
SK announced on the 2nd that its largest shareholder, Chey Tae-won, plans to sell 1,653,924 shares, or 2.3% of the company. After the sale, Chey's common shareholding in SK will fall from 12,975,472 shares to 11,321,548 shares. The actual transactions are scheduled to begin on November 2, one month later. 
Chey will secure 944 billion won through the sale, the same amount as the property division payment that the court ordered him to pay to Roh So-young, director of Art Center Nabi. SK said the reason for the sale was "to raise funds for personal needs through the sale of held shares." 
The sale will be conducted through after-hours block trades rather than by selling the large number of shares all at once during regular trading. The aim is to minimize the impact on the market. The transaction will combine sales to strategic investors with PRS (price return swap) transactions for securities firms, allowing the company to continue pursuing long-term growth and enhancing its corporate value. 
Of the 944 billion won worth of shares being sold, 544 billion won will be sold to strategic investors, while 400 billion won will be sold to securities firms through PRS transactions.
According to SK, the transaction by its largest shareholder is being pursued without affecting the stability of SK's management. After the transaction is completed, the largest shareholder's stake will fall from 17.8% to 15.5%, while the stake including specially related parties will decline from 25.2% to 22.9%. The company added, "The largest shareholder's status will remain unchanged after this transaction, and the stake including specially related parties will remain above 20%—or above 30% based on voting shares—so there will be no change to the foundation for stable management of the company." 
The company continued, "The largest shareholder will continue to focus on responsible management and enhancing SK's corporate value. SK also plans to consistently pursue its existing growth strategy, investment plans and policies to enhance shareholder value." 
Meanwhile, in July, the appeals court hearing the remanded case in the property division lawsuit between Chey Tae-won and Roh So-young calculated Chey's property division payment at 944 billion won. Chey challenged the decision by filing a further appeal with the Supreme Court in August. He later submitted a motion to narrow the scope of his appeal, stating that he would not contest 700 billion won of the property division amount and would seek the Supreme Court's ruling only on the remaining 244 billion won.
Chey is reportedly maintaining that the ongoing legal proceedings will continue regardless of the sale of the stake. 
[email protected] Im Su-bin Reporter