According to Yonhap News on June 14, the Family Division of the Seoul High Court, led by Judge Lee Sang-joo, will hold the session on June 15.
Both Chey and Noh are expected to attend, marking their first in-person meeting in court since the final argument session of the appeal in April 2024, over two years ago. At the first mediation session held about a month ago, only Noh was present, and the court scheduled the next session for a date when both parties could attend.
During the second session, discussions are anticipated to focus on the scale, method, and criteria for asset division. A key issue will be whether the recently surging SK stock will be considered part of the division, and if so, how the recent price increase will affect its valuation.
As of the conclusion of the trial in April 2024, the SK stock was valued at 160,000 won, with Chey's holdings worth approximately 2.7 trillion won. Recently, SK stock has surged to around 600,000 won, more than tripling its value. The valuation date for asset division is contentious, with one side advocating for the conclusion date of the appeal trial on April 16, 2024, and the other favoring the current ongoing mediation session.
Chey's side argues that the shares are unique property acquired through inheritance and gifts, thus not subject to division. Conversely, Noh's side contends that her contributions in child-rearing and household labor warrant recognition of the assets as joint property.
In December 2022, the first trial ruled that Chey's SK shares were not subject to division, ordering him to pay Noh 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in cash for asset division. However, the second trial significantly increased these amounts, determining that Chey should pay 2 billion won in alimony and 1.38 trillion won in asset division. This decision was based on the assertion that 30 billion won, suspected to be slush funds from former President Roh Tae-woo, flowed into Chey's late father, Choi Jong-hyun, contributing to the growth of SK Group, thus disqualifying the SK stock as Chey's unique property.
However, in October of last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the slush funds from former President Roh were illegal, and even if this money entered SK, it could not be considered as a contribution from Noh for asset division purposes, sending the case back for retrial. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court upheld the decision to grant 2 billion won in alimony.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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