Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, appeared on the 26th for a hearing in the retrial on remand over property division in their divorce case.
Chey arrived at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, at about 9:50 a.m. He was asked by reporters, "The retrial on remand has resumed; please share a comment," "Do you see progress toward a settlement," and "Are you disputing the case on the premise that the shares are recognized as marital property," but he only said, "I will finish well and return," before heading into the courtroom.
Roh also appeared at the court at about 9:44 a.m. She did not answer questions such as, "The retrial on remand has resumed; please share a comment," "Do you see progress toward a settlement," and "Have you set the reference date for the share price calculation," and went into the courtroom.
The family division 1 of the Seoul High Court (presiding judge Lee Sang-ju, senior judge) opened the hearing at 10 a.m. for the retrial on remand over property division between Chey and Roh. It was the first hearing held after mediation failed. Attendance by the parties is not mandatory, but both Chey and Roh came to court.
Earlier, on the 15th, the bench held a second mediation session for one hour and 30 minutes with both Chey and Roh present. But mediation did not succeed, and the case moved back to a full hearing.
The central issue in the retrial on remand is whether shares of SK Corp. are subject to property division, a dispute that has continued since the first trial. Chey's side argues the SK Corp. shares are separate property formed before the marriage, while Roh's side has argued they are marital property formed and maintained during the marriage.
The first trial deemed SK Corp. shares to be separate property and excluded them from the property subject to division. It ordered Chey to pay Roh 100 million won in consolation money and 66.5 billion won as property division. Separate property refers to the unique assets that one spouse held before marriage or acquired in their own name during marriage and, in principle, is excluded from property division.
The appellate ruling before remand differed. The appeals court found that the SK Corp. shares were acquired during the marriage and that funds suspected to be slush money from former President Roh Tae-woo, Roh's father, flowed to the late SK chairman Choi Jong-hyun. On that basis, it determined the SK Corp. shares constituted marital property and were subject to property division.
The appellate court before remand said, "The funds that flowed from the former president's side to the late chairman Choi's side were commingled with Choi's original personal funds, putting them in a state where they could be used, enjoyed, and disposed of like Choi's personal property," and determined it could recognize Roh's tangible contribution.
In Oct. last year, the Supreme Court overturned the appeals ruling, saying, "The 30 billion won in financial support from the former president cannot be considered Roh's contribution for property division." However, regarding Chey's donations of shares in SK Corp. and other entities or dispositions such as returning salary, it said, "These occurred before the date the marital relationship broke down, and there is room to view them as for maintaining or increasing the value of the marital property, including SK Corp. shares in Chey's name."
In the retrial on remand, along with whether SK Corp. shares are included in the property subject to division, the reference date for property division is also at issue. If SK Corp. shares are recognized as property subject to division, the assessed value will vary depending on the reference date. The recent sharp rise in SK Corp.'s stock price could also affect the sides' battle over the size of the property division.