The Seoul Family Court ordered Kwon to transfer about 2.55 trillion won in assets to his estranged wife, including a 35 percent stake in the privately held gaming company, setting a new record for a court-ordered divorce property division in South Korea.
Hours later, Chey said he would no longer contest 700 billion won of the 944 billion won he was ordered to pay his former wife, Roh Soh-yeong, leaving only 244 billion won at issue before the Supreme Court.
For a few months, Chey's case had defined the upper limit of how costly a South Korean divorce could become.
Kwon's ruling has now pushed that figure well past 2 trillion won, just as Chey is seeking to draw most of his years-long legal battle to a close.
The contrast extends beyond the size of the awards.
Chey's obligation was structured as a cash payment, allowing him to retain the SK Inc. shares through which he exercises influence over the conglomerate.
Kwon, by contrast, was ordered to hand over Smilegate shares themselves, potentially turning a marital property dispute into a direct question of corporate ownership.
"The marriage has broken down to a point beyond repair," the Seoul Family Court said in granting the divorce.
The court valued Kwon's Smilegate shares at about 7.1 trillion won and ordered him to transfer 35 percent of them to his wife, surnamed Lee. The shares are worth about 2.49 trillion won, while Kwon was also ordered to pay another 65 billion won in cash.
The total property division amounts to roughly 2.55 trillion won.
The award is more than two and a half times the 944 billion won ordered in July in the divorce of Chey and Roh, which had been South Korea's largest publicly known divorce property award.
Unlike Chey, who was allowed to keep his SK Inc. shares and compensate Roh in cash, Kwon was ordered to divide the shares directly.
The court said requiring the full amount in cash would be difficult because most of Kwon's wealth is tied up in company shares.
If the ruling stands, Lee would become a direct shareholder in Smilegate.
The court granted Lee's divorce petition but dismissed her claim for consolation money, finding that both spouses shared responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage.
Lee filed for divorce in November 2022, about two years after the couple began living apart.
She had sought half of Kwon's holdings, arguing that she held a 30 percent stake in Smilegate during its early years and served as a representative director and board member. She also said she contributed to the family's wealth through household duties and child care over more than two decades.
Kwon argued that Lee had neither invested in nor worked for the company and therefore should not be considered a co-founder.
The court nevertheless found the Smilegate shares subject to division, taking into account Lee's early involvement in the company as well as her contribution to the household and raising their children.
The ruling is a first-instance judgment and can still be appealed.
Chey scales back Supreme Court fight
As Kwon's case set a new record, Chey moved in the opposite direction by sharply narrowing what had previously been South Korea's biggest divorce fight.
Chey's lawyers filed a request with the court on Aug. 31 reducing the scope of his Supreme Court appeal, according to legal sources.
Of the 944 billion won he was ordered to pay Roh in cash, Chey will no longer contest 700 billion won and will challenge only the remaining 244 billion won.
Chey's side said the move was intended to narrow the years-long dispute and bring it to a quicker end while continuing to challenge any amount above 700 billion won.
The decision sharply reduces the stakes in a legal battle dating back to 2017.
Chey and Roh married at the presidential Blue House in 1988, during the presidency of Roh's father, former President Roh Tae-woo.
Their marriage publicly unraveled in 2015, when Chey disclosed that he had fathered a daughter with another woman.
He sought divorce mediation in 2017, and Roh later filed a countersuit seeking damages and a share of his corporate wealth.
The Seoul Family Court initially ordered Chey in 2022 to pay 66.5 billion won in property division, finding his SK shares were largely separate property.
The Seoul High Court later raised the award to about 1.38 trillion won.
The Supreme Court subsequently overturned the property-division portion of the ruling over its treatment of 30 billion won linked to former President Roh.
On remand in July, the Seoul High Court excluded the disputed 30 billion won but still found that Roh had contributed to building and maintaining the couple's marital assets.
It awarded Roh one-third of the couple's property, resulting in the 944 billion won cash payment. Chey appealed again last month.
The Supreme Court fight will now center on the remaining 244 billion won.
Among the outstanding questions is whether Roh's contribution should have been set at 33.3 percent even after the disputed 30 billion won was removed from consideration. The previous appellate court had assessed her contribution at 35 percent.
Chey is also challenging the court's use of SK Inc.'s rising share price in calculating the divisible assets and argues that his stake in SK Siltron should not be included.
The latter stake was acquired in 2017, after the marriage had effectively broken down, raising the question of whether it should be treated as property accumulated through the couple's joint contribution.
The distinction underscores how differently the two divorce rulings reach into the corporate fortunes involved.
Chey's 944 billion won obligation leaves his core SK ownership intact.
Kwon's ruling, if upheld, would require him to surrender part of the company itself.
On the same day that South Korea's costliest divorce became substantially more expensive, the man who previously held that distinction moved closer to bowing out of his own battle.
AJP Takeaways
- On September 9, 2026, the Seoul Family Court ordered Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin to transfer about 2.55 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in assets to his wife, including a 35 percent stake in Smilegate.
- The Kwon Hyuk-bin ruling surpassed the 944 billion won property division ordered in the divorce of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong, making it South Korea's largest publicly known divorce property award.
- Kwon Hyuk-bin was ordered to transfer company shares directly, while Chey Tae-won's 944 billion won obligation is structured as a cash payment that allows him to retain his SK Inc. shares.
- Chey Tae-won has accepted 700 billion won of the 944 billion won he was ordered to pay Roh Soh-yeong and will contest only the remaining 244 billion won before the Supreme Court.
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