The first hearing in the remand trial on asset partitioning for Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, ended on the 9th. The court is said to be aiming to reach a conclusion as soon as possible, given that the case has been ongoing for a long time.
The Seoul High Court Family Division 1 (Presiding Judges Lee Sang-ju, Lee Hye-ran and Cho In) opened the first hearing in the remand trial on asset partitioning for the chairman and the director at 5:20 p.m. on the 9th.
Director Roh attended the hearing in person. She arrived at the court around 5:05 p.m. and was asked by reporters, "What position do you plan to present at today's hearing?" but entered the courtroom without answering.
Chairman Chey did not appear at the hearing. Instead, only attorneys from YulChon attended. YulChon, which led to the remand in the previous appeal, was reappointed.
The court said, "In cases of asset partitioning, family cases are in principle closed to the public," and ordered all spectators except the parties and their attorneys to leave. Director Roh is said to have expressed her views directly in the courtroom, which proceeded behind closed doors.
The hearing ended around 6 p.m.
The next hearing date has not yet been set. An attorney for Director Roh said, "The court requested that both sides submit briefs containing their arguments by the end of January," and added, "After reviewing them, if it determines there is no need for additional examination, it will set a hearing date and conclude the arguments that day."
The court is also reportedly considering designating a sentencing date immediately after holding one hearing date. However, if it concludes upon reviewing the submitted briefs that additional examination is necessary, it may request supplementation through an order to prepare clarification or designate a separate preparatory date.
According to an attorney for Director Roh, the court conveyed at the hearing that "this case is too old, so we are trying to reach a conclusion as soon as possible."
The case has been ongoing for more than eight years. Chairman Chey applied for divorce mediation for a consensual divorce against Director Roh in Jul. 2017, but when no agreement was reached in Feb. 2018, he filed a formal lawsuit. Director Roh filed a countersuit in Dec. 2019 seeking asset partitioning.
The issues in this remand trial are whether the equity in SK Co., Ltd. held by the chairman is subject to partitioning and how much to recognize Director Roh's contribution to the chairman's assets.
Earlier, in Oct. last year, the Supreme Court held that even if 30 billion won from former President Roh Tae-woo flowed to SK Group, it appeared to be illegal bribery and therefore could not be recognized as Director Roh's contribution in asset partitioning. Accordingly, the Supreme Court determined that Director Roh's contribution to the formation of the assets should be assessed lower and the amount of asset partitioning recalculated.
In this remand trial, it appears the "Roh Tae-woo slush fund" will be excluded from Director Roh's contributions, and the asset partitioning ratio will be recalculated.