South Korean appeals court cuts Chey Tae-won divorce payout to $640M

In short: A South Korean appeals court lowered the amount SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won must pay his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, in their divorce property split.

What happened

A South Korean appeals court ruled on July 24, 2026 that Chey Tae-won must pay Roh Soh-yeong 944 billion won, about $640 million, as part of their divorce-related property division. Property division is how a court splits wealth built during a marriage, like dividing up a shared household.

This new amount is smaller than the earlier 1.38 trillion won award. That higher figure had been sent back for another look by South Korea’s Supreme Court.

The case involves two prominent families. Chey leads SK Group, the conglomerate behind SK Hynix, a major memory chip maker. Roh is the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo.

The numbers in the case have shifted over time. A lower court had ordered Chey to pay 66.5 billion won in property division and 100 million won in alimony. Later, an appellate court raised those amounts to 1.38 trillion won for property and 2 billion won for alimony.

In October 2025, the Supreme Court overturned the 1.38 trillion won property division but kept the 2 billion won alimony award. It sent the property question back to the appeals court, which resumed hearings in June 2026.

Why it matters

Even though this is a family law case, the size of the award matters because it involves the head of a major business group. Big divorce settlements can affect how much money and control a business leader has, similar to forcing a large sale of personal assets to pay a bill.

Source: NYTimes