The Seoul High Court will deliver its decision on the divorce and asset-division case between SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won and No So-young on July 24 [1].
The ruling represents the conclusion of a protracted legal struggle involving one of South Korea's wealthiest families and the daughter of a former president. The outcome will determine the final distribution of a massive property split following the collapse of the marriage.
The legal battle has spanned nine years [2]. The conflict began after Choi publicly acknowledged the existence of a child born from an extramarital relationship in 2015 [2]. This disclosure led to mutual divorce filings and a complex dispute over the division of marital assets.
No So-young, the director of the Art Center NABI, said her father's slush funds contributed to the growth of SK Group [3]. This claim is central to the dispute over how much of the conglomerate's wealth should be considered marital property.
In a previous judgment, the Seoul High Court ordered Choi to pay 100 million KRW in alimony [4]. The court also ordered a cash payment of 66.5 billion KRW for the division of assets [4].
The upcoming hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 24 [1]. This remand-retrial decision is expected to settle the financial obligations of the divorce after years of appeals and litigation.
Choi and No have remained central figures in the public eye throughout the process, a case often described as a "divorce of the century" in South Korean media.
“The legal battle has spanned nine years.”
This ruling will establish a significant legal precedent regarding the division of assets in high-net-worth divorces in South Korea, particularly concerning the influence of ancestral wealth and corporate growth. Because No So-young is the daughter of a former president, the decision also intersects with the historical intersection of political power and corporate expansion in the country's economy.
