SEOUL: South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thur­s­day sent SK Group Chai­r­man Chey Tae-won’s high-profile divorce case, which required him to pay a record settlement, back to a lower court for review, handing the billionaire businessman a temporary victory.

Last year, the Seoul High Court said Chey sho­uld pay 1.38 trillion won ($972.5 million) to his es­­t­r­anged wife, Roh ­­So- yeong, as part of their planned divorce. In addition to what would have been the country’s largest divorce settlement, the Seo­ul High Court also ord­ered Chey to pay Roh 2 billion won in alimony. Chey contested that court’s order. The Supreme Court kept in place the lower cou­rt’s order covering the alimony payment of 2 billion won.

SK Group is South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate with 363 trillion won in assets as of May 2025, according to data from the Korea Fair Trade Commission. Its affiliates include chipmaker SK Hynix. SK Inc shares closed down 5.6pc after the ruling on Thursday.

Analysts said if the court ruling had been upheld, it could have prompted Chey to raise funds by pledging SK shares as collateral a move that would typically support the stock price. In 2024, the Seoul High Court said Chey’s shares in holding company SK Inc should be considered part of the couple’s joint property. Roh is the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo.

The court’s ruling raised questions about how Chey would raise the money, giv­en that he was not bel­ieved to have easy acc­ess to such a large sum of cash as a large part of his net worth is invested in the shares of aff­iliated companies.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2025