Historic ruling in South Korean tycoon divorce: Chae Tae-won to pay ex-wife $644 million

The chairman of the SK Group conglomerate, Chae Tae-won, has been ordered by the court to hand over to his ex-wife, Roh So-yong, the sum of 944 billion won, equivalent to about 644 million US dollars, in one of the most talked-about divorce battles South Korea has ever seen.

The new ruling, however, is not final and opens the way for further legal challenges. The current amount is significantly lower than the one set in 2024, when the court had decided Chae should pay 1.38 trillion won.

The couple’s 35-year marriage ended after a deep shock that began more than ten years ago, when Chae himself publicly admitted that he had fathered a child with another partner. Roh So-yong is the daughter of former President Roh Tae-woo, who led the country between 1988 and 1993.

After the ruling was announced, Chae’s legal team stated that he deeply regrets the distress these proceedings have caused many people. They added that a more complete position will be formulated after carefully analyzing the court’s reasoning.

A key point of dispute has been the contribution of her father to the joint wealth. In the 2024 trial, Roh’s side successfully argued that Chae’s business growth was heavily supported by financial assistance from the former president. The court acknowledged that around 30 billion won from a secret political fund had passed to Chae in 1991, considering this an essential part of the wealth built during the marriage.

However, the Supreme Court overturned that decision, arguing that the money had been obtained illegally and therefore could not be included in the division of joint property.

Meanwhile, SK Group remains one of the country’s dominant economic powers, second only to Samsung. The company has experienced extraordinary expansion thanks to investments in technology and artificial intelligence sectors. Its semiconductor arm, SK Hynix, has become a key supplier of high-performance memory chips essential for artificial intelligence processors, benefiting from growing global demand for advanced technology.

The group’s success has further consolidated Chae Tae-won’s position in the business arena. Just a few weeks ago, he received public congratulations from President Lee Jae-myung for his role in strategic investments in the field of artificial intelligence.