[Edaily Reporter LEE JI-EUN ] The Supreme Court has assigned the case for a second retrial regarding the division of assets between SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Noh So-young and has begun full-scale deliberations.

According to legal circles on the 28th, the Supreme Court assigned the case regarding the re-appeal on property division between Chairman Choi and Director Noh to the Second Division, composed of Justices Oh Gyeong-mi, Kwon Young-jun, Park Young-jae, and Kim Seong-su. Justice Kim Seong-su will serve as the presiding judge.

In the final appeal, the legal battle is expected to center on 244 billion won out of the total 944 billion won in property division payments. This is because Chairman Choi’s side, which filed the appeal, submitted a motion to amend (reduce) the grounds for appeal to the Seoul High Court—which handled the remanded property division case—on August 31, indicating that they would no longer contest the 700 billion won portion.

Key issues from the remand trial—including the valuation date for SK shares, whether the stake in SK Siltron is subject to property division, and the allocation ratio based on Director Noh’s contribution—are expected to be major points of contention. It is reported that these points were also included in the statement of grounds for appeal submitted by Chairman Choi’s side on the 12th of this month.

Although there had been speculation that Mrs. Noh’s side would file a cross-appeal, she did not do so by the deadline. On the 20th, she submitted only a response refuting Chairman Choi’s statement of grounds for appeal. It is reported that Mrs. Noh’s side is maintaining its position that the entire amount should be paid in cash.

Previously, on August 24, the court in the retrial ruled that Chairman Choi must pay Director Noh 944 billion won. This amount represents one-third of the couple’s joint assets—totaling approximately 2.9 trillion won, including shares in SK and its affiliates, as well as real estate owned by Chairman Choi—minus 23 billion won in assets classified as Director Noh’s personal property.

Regarding the shares held by Chairman Choi—which had drawn significant attention due to a recent sharp rise in stock prices—the court deemed them assets acquired during the marriage and included them in the property division. The court determined that the valuation date for the shares was April 16, 2024, the date of the closing arguments in the appellate trial prior to the reversal and remand.

Chairman Choi’s legal team, objecting to the ruling in the retrial, filed a final appeal with the Supreme Court on the last day of the appeal period. In a statement released around 11:59 p.m. on August 14, Chairman Choi’s legal team stated, “We submitted the appeal after careful consideration of various circumstances,” adding, “We will approach future proceedings with the intention of minimizing any negative impact on shareholders and the group’s management.”

The divorce proceedings between Chairman Choi and Director Noh began in earnest in 2017 when Chairman Choi filed for divorce mediation. As mediation failed to reach an agreement, the case proceeded to formal litigation, and Director Noh subsequently filed a counterclaim.

In the first-instance ruling, the court excluded Chairman Choi’s SK shares from the division of assets and ordered him to pay 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in property division. However, the appellate court recognized that Mrs. Noh had contributed to the creation and appreciation of the SK shares and ruled that he must pay 2 billion won in alimony and 1.3808 trillion won in property division.

The Supreme Court subsequently found issues with the inclusion of former President Roh’s 30 billion won in slush funds in the property division ruling and remanded this portion to the Seoul High Court. However, it upheld the 2 billion won in compensation for emotional distress.

Meanwhile, Chairman Choi announced that he would sell a portion of his stock holdings to raise funds related to the property division lawsuit. On the 2nd of this month, SK disclosed a “Report on the Trading Plan for Specific Securities by Executives and Major Shareholders” detailing the sale of 1,653,924 common shares held by Chairman Choi.