[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] A court has ordered Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK(034730), to pay 944 billion won to Noh So-young, director of the Art Center Navi.

The Seoul High Court’s Family Division 1 (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-ju) handed down this ruling on the afternoon of the 24th during the sentencing hearing for the retrial of the divorce property division case between Chairman Choi and Director Noh. The court ruled that each party must bear their own litigation costs. Although the amount is lower than the 1.3808 trillion won awarded in the second-instance ruling, it remains the largest amount ever awarded in a domestic divorce property division case. However, the court did not disclose the specific basis for calculating the division amount during the proceedings.

Chairman Choi publicly disclosed his child born out of wedlock in 2015 and filed for divorce mediation with Mrs. Noh in 2017. When the mediation broke down, Ms. Noh filed a counterclaim, seeking not only a divorce but also substantial alimony and a division of assets, including half of Chairman Choi’s SK shares. Subsequently, the two sides engaged in a protracted legal battle over whether Chairman Choi’s SK shares were subject to property division and the extent of Ms. Noh’s contribution to the group’s growth.

In December 2022, the court of first instance granted the divorce between Chairman Choi and Mrs. Noh, ruling that Chairman Choi must pay Mrs. Noh 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in property division. At the time, the court determined that Chairman Choi’s SK shares—inherited from his father—constituted separate property and could not be considered jointly acquired assets. However, the court did grant a partial division of assets, taking into account Ms. Noh’s support of his business activities through household management and child-rearing.

In contrast, in May 2024, the appellate court overturned the lower court’s ruling, increasing the alimony to 2 billion won and substantially raising the property division amount to 1.3808 trillion won. In particular, the court ruled that Chairman Choi’s SK shares were subject to property division, resulting in a division amount approximately 20 times larger than that of the first trial. The court found that, during the SK Group’s growth, 30 billion won provided by former President Roh Tae-woo—Mrs. Roh’s father—served as the foundation for the group’s expansion, and that Mrs. Roh also contributed to the accumulation of assets by supporting management activities as a spouse.

However, in October of last year, the Supreme Court overturned the portion of the ruling regarding the division of assets and remanded the case. The Supreme Court ruled that the 30 billion won from former President Roh Tae-woo constituted illegal funds raised through so-called “slush funds” and therefore could not be protected under the law. It also held that the 1.1116 trillion won in assets that Chairman Choi had effectively disposed of by making third-party gifts to relatives after the marriage had effectively broken down could not be subject to division.

Accordingly, the court remanded the case to the Seoul High Court, instructing it to recalculate the property division ratio. In accordance with the Supreme Court’s remand instructions, the amount awarded was reduced compared to the second-instance ruling. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court upheld the second-instance ruling that held Chairman Choi responsible for the breakdown of the marriage and ordered him to pay 2 billion won in alimony; the divorce was also finalized.