TL;DR - Seoul High Court on July 24 ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong ₩944 billion (USD 645.7M) in cash — Korea's largest-ever divorce asset award - Payment must be in cash, not shares, explicitly preserving Chey's 17.9% control stake in SK Inc. - SK Hynix (000660.KS) fell 8.34%, SK Square (402340.KS) fell 9.17%, SK Inc. (034730.KS) fell 3.82% on July 25 - SK Telecom (017670.KS) jumped 5% intraday on speculation Chey will demand higher dividends to fund the settlement - Chey's lawyers are evaluating an appeal; fundamental SK Hynix HBM demand unchanged
Part A: What the Court Decided
The Seoul High Court's Family Division, ruling on remand from the Supreme Court, ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong ₩944 billion (USD 645.7M) in cash — ending one of the most consequential corporate governance disputes in Korean legal history.
| Settlement Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Asset division | ₩944B (USD 645.7M) |
| Alimony | ₩2B (USD 1.3M) |
| Total | ~₩946B (USD 647M) |
| Previous high court ruling (2024, overturned) | ₩1.38T (USD 940M) |
The court determined Roh was entitled to one-third of jointly accumulated assets, finding that "the value of Chey's stocks soared during their marriage" and that her contributions — homemaking, raising three children, and supporting SK Group's public activities — formed part of that wealth creation.
The cash-only specification is legally significant. By excluding share transfers, the court preserved Chey's 17.9% stake in SK Inc., the apex holding company whose control underpins the entire SK Group ownership pyramid. His lawyers said they are "evaluating" a further appeal.
Timeline:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1988 | Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong marry |
| 2015 | Chey publicly acknowledges a separate long-term relationship and child |
| 2024 | Lower high court awards Roh ₩1.38T (then-record) |
| 2025 | Supreme Court overturns: alleged presidential slush funds of ₩30B excluded |
| 2026-07-24 | Remand ruling: ₩944B + ₩2B alimony |
Roh Soh-yeong is the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo (1988–1993) and currently serves as director of a Seoul art museum.
Part B: Investor Implications
The Ownership Chain That Explains the Sell-Off
SK Group's second-largest-conglomerate status flows through Chey's personal stake in SK Inc. Any perceived threat to that stake ripples across SK's listed subsidiaries:
| Entity | Key Link | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Chey Tae-won (personal) | SK Inc. 17.9% stake | Apex of group control |
| SK Inc. (034730.KS) | SK Telecom 30.6%, SK Square subsidiary | Main holding company |
| SK Square (402340.KS) | SK Hynix 20.5% stake | Intermediate holding company |
| SK Hynix (000660.KS) | ~56% global HBM supply | AI memory champion |
| Chey Tae-won (personal) | SK Siltron 29.4% | Silicon wafer maker (separate from SK Inc.) |
SK Hynix, the group's most valuable listed subsidiary, has surged approximately 150% year-to-date as demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) — deployed in nearly every major AI data centre globally — accelerated. That same rally inflated the assessed value of Chey's holdings during divorce proceedings, making the final award larger in absolute terms than it would have been two years earlier.
Why Markets Sold Off — and Why Telecom Gained
On July 25, one day after the ruling, SK Group shares moved sharply:
| Stock | July 25 Change | Market Concern |
|---|---|---|
| SK Square (402340.KS) | -9.17% | Forced deleveraging at holdco level |
| SK Hynix (000660.KS) | -8.34% | Indirect contagion; governance overhang |
| SK Inc. (034730.KS) | -3.82% | Share-pledge risk; headline exposure |
| SK Telecom (017670.KS) | +0.5% (intraday +5%) | Dividend extraction speculation |
The core concern: Chey must fund ₩944B in cash without touching his SK Inc. shares. With a net worth estimated by Forbes at USD 5.3B, the settlement represents roughly 12% of total wealth — manageable in absolute terms but significant in timing given capital market conditions. Three market-anticipated funding paths:
Share-backed loans against SK Inc. shares — the most likely mechanism. SK Inc.'s ~143% YTD gain expands collateral capacity. Risk: if SK stocks correct meaningfully, margin calls could force share sales and undermine the very control structure the cash-only ruling sought to protect.
Higher dividends from subsidiaries — SK Telecom, with its steady free cash flow from Korea's dominant carrier franchise, is the most logical dividend source. The intraday +5% SK Telecom spike reflects market pricing of higher near-term dividend policy. A more aggressive dividend would be shareholder-friendly but reduces capital available for SK Telecom's own network and AI investment cycle.
SK Siltron stake monetisation — Chey personally holds 29.4% of SK Siltron, separate from SK Inc.'s 70.6%. SK Doosan has been in talks to acquire SK Inc.'s Siltron stake; a parallel sale of Chey's personal holding would not affect the SK Inc. control structure and is likely the cleanest path with the least market disruption.
What This Means for SK Hynix Exposure Specifically
For international investors holding SK Hynix directly (000660.KS on KRX), via the Nasdaq ADR (SKHY), or through the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), the governance risk is two corporate layers removed. SK Square's 20.5% stake in SK Hynix is significant, but for the settlement to directly threaten Chey's control of Hynix, SK Inc. shares would need to be sold — which the court ruling explicitly sought to prevent.
SK Hynix remains the world's leading HBM3E producer (~56% of global supply) and a confirmed HBM4 ramp partner for AMD's Vera Rubin AI platform. The AI memory demand cycle remains fundamentally intact regardless of the settlement. The July 25 sell-off appears to reflect governance-discount repricing rather than any change in the underlying HBM order book.
Full Q2 2026 earnings are scheduled for July 29, and that release will likely redirect investor attention back to performance metrics: consensus operating profit stands at approximately ₩64T, representing a multi-hundred percent year-over-year increase driven by HBM pricing power.
Appeal Scenario
Chey's lawyers stated they are evaluating a further appeal. If pursued, the final settlement amount and payment timeline remain open. A successful appeal could reduce the figure; an unsuccessful one would confirm ₩944B. Either way, the cash-only mechanism and control-preservation intent of the court appear settled in principle.
Sources
- Korea Herald — "How will Chey Tae-won pay his ₩944B divorce bill?" (https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10820478)
- Forbes — "SK Hynix Billionaire Must Pay USD 645M Divorce Settlement — Korea's Largest Ever" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2026/07/24/sk-hynix-billionaire-ordered-to-pay-645-million-divorce-settlement-koreas-largest-ever/)
- Fortune — "South Korea's Divorce of the Century" (https://fortune.com/2026/07/24/south-korea-divorce-of-the-century-chair-640-million-ex-president-daughter/)
- Fox Business — "SK Group chairman ordered to pay ex-wife record USD 645M in divorce" (https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/tech-billionaire-ordered-pay-645m-ex-wife-south-koreas-divorce-century)
- Seoul Economic Daily — "Court Orders Chey Tae-won to Pay 944 Billion Won" (https://en.sedaily.com/society/2026/07/24/court-orders-chey-tae-won-to-pay-ex-wife-944-billion-won-in)
This article is journalistic reporting and does not constitute investment advice. LineVest is not a registered investment adviser.
