[News Today] CHEY-ROH DIVORCE AWAITS HIGH COURT

[LEAD]
The potentially final decision on the divorce of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong, could be made today. The Supreme Court is assessing whether to fully hear the case. A decision against further review would affirm the appellate court’s ruling.

[REPORT]
Chairman Chey Tae-won needs to pay one trillion and 380.8 billion won, over 998 billion U.S. dollars, to Roh Soh-yeong in division of property.

The appeals court's ruling on the divorce trial of SK Group Chairman Chey and his estranged wife Roh Soh-yeong set a record high as the amount of divided property was increased by twenty times from the first trial.

Chey did not accept the sentencing and filed an appeal.

Chey Tae-won / SK Group chair (June, 2024)
I heard it was a fatal flaw regarding whether stocks should be divided and if so, how much.

The Supreme Court of Korea must decide by midnight tonight, November 9th, whether to begin hearing the case.

If the Supreme Court decides to discontinue the trial, which means to dismiss the appeal, the previous ruling will be confirmed without the Supreme Court's determination.

It is reported that nearly 80% of all divorce lawsuits are immediately dismissed by the Supreme Court without undergoing trial.

However, this case may produce a different result because the appeals court's sentencing was revised after the ruling was passed.

The court discovered an error in calculating the evaluated amount of certain stocks. However, Chey's attorneys claimed that it's too big of a mistake to be simply corrected and are taking steps to protest the decision.

The Supreme Court is looking into whether the sentencing correction process was legitimate. If the appeal is dismissed today, this error is likely to be tossed out as well.

Some speculate that the trial will continue as it's hard to rule on the divorce case until the determination on the calculation error is over.

It's unclear if the result can be overturned even if the Supreme Court decides to proceed with the case.

Referring to Chey's appeal, Roh Soh-yeong's attorneys said "he cannot ask to be treated differently just because he's a business tycoon" and asked the judges to treat the case like any other divorce.

Less than 2% of divorce cases were reversed and remanded by the Supreme Court last year.