Billionaire to pay $1bn to ex-wife in divorce settlement
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South Korean billionaire and chairman of SK Group conglomerate, Chey Tae-won, has been ordered to pay his ex-wife 1.38 trillion received ($1bn) in money, marking the nation’s largest-ever divorce settlement.
BBC experiences that the divorce settlement comes virtually a decade after Chey Tae-won’s marriage led to scandal, following the revelation of his extramarital affair and the delivery of a kid together with his mistress.
On Thursday, the Seoul High Court dominated in favour of Roh So-young, awarding her a share of Chey Tae-won’s firm property after their 35-year marriage.
Roh So-young is the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo.
Chey’s legal professionals introduced plans to enchantment the court docket’s resolution, arguing that the ruling was based mostly solely on his ex-wife’s model of occasions.
The Seoul High Court’s award of 1.38 trillion received to Roh So-young marks a considerable improve from the 66.5 billion received settlement initially dominated by a decrease court docket in 2022.
A decrease household court docket had beforehand denied Roh So-young’s request to obtain a portion of Chey Tae-won’s SK shares, however the Seoul High Court overturned this resolution on Thursday, ruling that the shares needs to be thought of joint property and awarding her a portion of them.
The ruling stated, “It was reasonable to rule that, as his wife, Roh played a role in increasing the value of SK Group and Chey’s business activity.”
The court docket estimated Chey Tae-won’s wealth to be roughly 4 trillion received, and accordingly, Roh So-young, with whom he has three youngsters, is entitled to round 35% of that quantity.
Acknowledging Roh So-young’s contributions, the court docket stated she had facilitated the expansion of Chey Tae-won’s enterprise by serving to to resolve regulatory points, and moreover, her father, former President Roh Tae-woo, had offered influential assist, serving as a “protective shield” for Chey Jong-hyon, the previous chairman of SK Group, thereby contributing to the corporate’s success.
The judgment highlighted that Chey had not proven any regret “for his foul behaviour in the course of the trial… nor respect for monogamy.”
The court docket added that it factored in Roh So-young’s emotional ache and misery ensuing from Chey Tae-won’s infidelity when figuring out the elevated settlement quantity.
In their argument, Chey’s authorized group contended that his ex-wife’s political connections had really hindered his enterprise endeavours slightly than benefiting them.
Shares of SK Inc., a world semiconductor big with numerous pursuits in telecoms, chemical compounds, and power, surged 9% following the court docket’s ruling.
