CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS

‘Divorce of the Century’ Ends With Billionaire’s Huge Payout

The businessman is worth nearly $5 billion dollars.

A South Korean court has ordered AI billionaire and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, about $645 million. The ruling marks South Korea’s largest-ever divorce settlement, though it falls short of the nearly $1 billion Roh sought. Judges awarded her roughly one-third of the couple’s marital assets, rejecting Chey’s argument that his inherited SK Inc. shares should be excluded from the settlement. The case stems from Chey’s 2015 public confession that he had fallen in love with another woman, Kim Hee-young, and fathered a child with her during his 27-year marriage to Roh, the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo. The legal fight also evolved into a dispute over the origins of the SK business empire, with Roh’s attorneys alleging her father secretly helped finance the company’s early expansion, claims Chey has denied. Chey’s fortune has surged in the past years thanks to the AI boom, as SK Hynix, a major supplier of advanced memory chips used in Nvidia’s AI systems, saw its stock soar. His lawyers said they are reviewing Friday’s decision and have not ruled out another appeal.