SEOUL, August 9 (AJP) - Attention is turning to whether the long-running property division dispute between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his wife Roh So-yeong will finally come to an end after nearly a decade.
According to legal sources Sunday, the deadline for the estranged couple to file a final appeal against the Seoul High Court's ruling delivered late last month in the case, which was sent back to the appellate court for retrial, is approaching.
In its ruling on July 24, the court ordered Chey to pay his ex-wife 944 billion won in property division. Chey and Roh have 15 days from receiving formal notice of the ruling to file a final appeal, with the deadline falling on Aug. 15. If neither side appeals, the ruling will become final.
The deadline can be extended to the next business day if it falls on a Saturday or public holiday. In this case, the deadline would be Aug. 18, as Aug. 15, Liberation Day, falls on a Saturday and Aug. 17 is a substitute holiday.
Their marital dispute began in 2017, after Chey revealed in December 2015 that he had a child out of wedlock and later filed for divorce when the couple failed to reach an agreement on the terms of their separation.
In the first trial in December 2022, the court ordered Chey to pay Roh 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in property division. But in May 2024, the Seoul High Court sharply raised those amounts, ordering Chey to pay 2 billion won in alimony and 1.38 trillion won in property division, citing a 30 billion won slush fund that Roh’s father, the late former President Roh Tae-woo, had funneled into SK Group.
But the Supreme Court ruled in October last year that the slush fund was illegal money and could not be counted as Roh's contribution to the couple's wealth. It upheld the 2 billion won in damages but sent the property division case back to the Seoul High Court for retrial.
At the retrial on July 24, the appellate court ordered Chey to pay Roh 944 billion won in property division, again ruling that his SK shares were subject to division, but recalculating the amount as orderd by the top court, making it the largest divorce settlement in the country's history.
If either side appeals, the case will once again be heard by the top court.
Chey, the chief of the country's second-largest conglomerate after Samsung, married Roh in September 1988 and have three children between them. Now it remains to be seen whether the lengthy legal battle over the largest divorce settlement in the country's history will finally come to a close.
AJP Takeaways:
- The deadline for SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his estranged wife Roh So-yeong to file a final appeal against the Seoul High Court's July 24, 2026, retrial ruling in their property division case falls on Aug. 18, 2026.
- In its July 24, 2026, ruling, the Seoul High Court ordered Chey Tae-won to pay Roh So-yeong 944 billion won in property division, making it the largest divorce settlement in South Korean history.
- The Supreme Court of South Korea ruled in October 2025 that a 30 billion won slush fund linked to Roh So-yeong's father, the late former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, was illegal money and could not be counted as Roh So-yeong's contribution to the couple's wealth; the court sent the property division case back to the Seoul High Court for retrial while upholding a separate 2 billion won alimony award.
- The property division dispute between Chey Tae-won and Roh So-yeong began in 2017, after Chey Tae-won disclosed in December 2015 that he had a child outside the marriage and later filed for divorce when the couple could not agree on separation terms.
- If either Chey Tae-won or Roh So-yeong appeals the July 24, 2026, ruling by the August 18, 2026, deadline, the case will be heard again by the Supreme Court of South Korea; if neither appeals, the ruling becomes final.
According to legal sources Sunday, the deadline for the estranged couple to file a final appeal against the Seoul High Court's ruling delivered late last month in the case, which was sent back to the appellate court for retrial, is approaching.
In its ruling on July 24, the court ordered Chey to pay his ex-wife 944 billion won in property division. Chey and Roh have 15 days from receiving formal notice of the ruling to file a final appeal, with the deadline falling on Aug. 15. If neither side appeals, the ruling will become final.
The deadline can be extended to the next business day if it falls on a Saturday or public holiday. In this case, the deadline would be Aug. 18, as Aug. 15, Liberation Day, falls on a Saturday and Aug. 17 is a substitute holiday.
Their marital dispute began in 2017, after Chey revealed in December 2015 that he had a child out of wedlock and later filed for divorce when the couple failed to reach an agreement on the terms of their separation.
In the first trial in December 2022, the court ordered Chey to pay Roh 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in property division. But in May 2024, the Seoul High Court sharply raised those amounts, ordering Chey to pay 2 billion won in alimony and 1.38 trillion won in property division, citing a 30 billion won slush fund that Roh’s father, the late former President Roh Tae-woo, had funneled into SK Group.
But the Supreme Court ruled in October last year that the slush fund was illegal money and could not be counted as Roh's contribution to the couple's wealth. It upheld the 2 billion won in damages but sent the property division case back to the Seoul High Court for retrial.
At the retrial on July 24, the appellate court ordered Chey to pay Roh 944 billion won in property division, again ruling that his SK shares were subject to division, but recalculating the amount as orderd by the top court, making it the largest divorce settlement in the country's history.
If either side appeals, the case will once again be heard by the top court.
Chey, the chief of the country's second-largest conglomerate after Samsung, married Roh in September 1988 and have three children between them. Now it remains to be seen whether the lengthy legal battle over the largest divorce settlement in the country's history will finally come to a close.
AJP Takeaways:
- The deadline for SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his estranged wife Roh So-yeong to file a final appeal against the Seoul High Court's July 24, 2026, retrial ruling in their property division case falls on Aug. 18, 2026.
- In its July 24, 2026, ruling, the Seoul High Court ordered Chey Tae-won to pay Roh So-yeong 944 billion won in property division, making it the largest divorce settlement in South Korean history.
- The Supreme Court of South Korea ruled in October 2025 that a 30 billion won slush fund linked to Roh So-yeong's father, the late former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, was illegal money and could not be counted as Roh So-yeong's contribution to the couple's wealth; the court sent the property division case back to the Seoul High Court for retrial while upholding a separate 2 billion won alimony award.
- The property division dispute between Chey Tae-won and Roh So-yeong began in 2017, after Chey Tae-won disclosed in December 2015 that he had a child outside the marriage and later filed for divorce when the couple could not agree on separation terms.
- If either Chey Tae-won or Roh So-yeong appeals the July 24, 2026, ruling by the August 18, 2026, deadline, the case will be heard again by the Supreme Court of South Korea; if neither appeals, the ruling becomes final.
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