SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s high-profile divorce settlement case has been referred to court mediation by an appellate court, following a Supreme Court remand for retrial, sources reported Friday.
The Seoul High Court has scheduled a mediation hearing for May 13 in the divorce settlement dispute involving Chairman Chey and Roh Soh-yeong, daughter of the late former President Roh Tae-woo, according to sources.
This referral opens a path for both parties to pursue a divorce settlement via court mediation, potentially bypassing further trial proceedings. However, the likelihood of reaching a successful mediated agreement remains uncertain.
Last October, Korea’s Supreme Court partially overturned a previous Seoul High Court ruling. That earlier decision had mandated Chairman Chey to pay approximately 1.38 trillion won (US$932.2 million) in asset division to his former wife, Roh.
The appellate court had initially recognized a purported 30 billion won slush fund, allegedly funneled from the former president to Chey’s father, as part of the property division. However, the Supreme Court ruled against its inclusion, stating the fund appeared to have been illegally formed.
Despite the asset division dispute, the Supreme Court affirmed the divorce itself and upheld the lower court’s order for Chey to pay 2 billion won in alimony.
The appellate court conducted a retrial hearing in January, but no subsequent proceedings have occurred since that time.
The legal saga began in 2015 when Chairman Chey publicly announced his divorce plans, disclosing an extramarital affair and a child. He subsequently filed for a divorce settlement two years later.
