Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, personally appeared for the mediation procedure in the remand trial of her divorce suit with Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group.
On the morning of the 13th, Director Roh appeared with her legal representatives at the mediation session held under the Seoul High Court Family Division 1 (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-ju).
Wearing a black jacket and skirt, Director Roh entered the courtroom without answering questions from reporters such as, "SK shares have risen more than threefold; do you think the gains should also be reflected in the division of property?"
Chairman Chey did not appear in court that day. Only his legal team attended the mediation session.
Both sides are expected to exchange views on issues such as what assets are subject to division, Director Roh's contribution, and the method of payment.
The key issue is whether SK shares held by Chairman Chey can be included as assets subject to division. Director Roh's side argues those shares should be regarded as property formed and maintained during the marriage. Chey's side counters they are separate property formed through inheritance and other means, and thus are not subject to division.
Chairman Chey and Director Roh married in September 1988 and had three children, but later split.
The litigation began when Chairman Chey applied for divorce mediation against Director Roh in July 2017. When mediation failed, the case proceeded to a formal lawsuit in February 2018. In December 2019, Director Roh filed a countersuit, saying she would agree to the divorce.
In the first instance in December 2022, the court ordered Chairman Chey to pay Director Roh 100 million won in consolation money and 66.5 billion won in division of property.
The appellate ruling changed the outcome significantly. The Seoul High Court ordered Chairman Chey to pay Director Roh 2 billion won in consolation money and 1.3808 trillion won in division of property.
The amount for division of property increased sharply on appeal because the first-instance decision that excluded Chey's SK equity from the assets subject to partitioning was overturned. The appellate court found that Roh Tae-woo, the former president, provided intangible help in SK Group's growth, and that this could be evaluated as Director Roh's contribution to the formation of property.
In October last year, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Seoul High Court to review the decision on division of property. It indicated that the 30 billion won slush fund of former President Roh was illegal funds and, even if such funds flowed into SK, they could not be reflected in calculating the division of property as Director Roh's contribution.
However, the Supreme Court affirmed as is the appellate decision recognizing 2 billion won in consolation money.
On the 17th of last month, the remand court referred the case to mediation. If mediation is reached, the two sides will set by agreement the amount of property division and the method of payment. If mediation fails, the court will recalculate the division amount in line with the Supreme Court's guidance.