TL;DR:

- The divorce property division mediation between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, failed on the 15th. As the two sides failed to reach an…
- The Seoul High Court’s Family Division 1 (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-joo) held a mediation session for the retrial of the property division case on the day and decided that the mediation…
- Both Chairman Chey and Director Roh attended the mediation in person. This marked the first time the two had faced each other in court since the final appeal hearing in April 2024,…

The divorce property division mediation between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi, failed on the 15th. As the two sides failed to reach an agreement, the court will now decide the amount and method of property division through direct deliberations.

The Seoul High Court’s Family Division 1 (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-joo) held a mediation session for the retrial of the property division case on the day and decided that the mediation had failed. The court plans to resume deliberations on the 26th and restart hearings on the amount and payment method.

Both Chairman Chey and Director Roh attended the mediation in person. This marked the first time the two had faced each other in court since the final appeal hearing in April 2024, approximately two years and two months ago. However, it is understood that they failed to find a compromise due to significant differences in their positions regarding the property division ratio and calculation method.

The key issue in this retrial is the amount of property division that Chairman Chey must pay to Director Roh. The first trial ordered the payment of 66.5 billion Korean won, but the appellate court significantly increased Director Roh’s share to 1.3808 trillion Korean won, stating that the 30 billion Korean won in slush funds from former President Roh Tae-woo served as the seed money for SK Group’s growth. However, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate ruling in October of last year, remanding the case to the Seoul High Court, stating, “Even if approximately 30 billion Korean won had flowed into the former Seongkyung Group (SK Group’s predecessor) in the past, it is illegal funds derived from bribes and thus cannot be legally protected.”

In the retrial, the property division amount must be newly determined excluding the contribution of former President Roh’s slush funds. The two sides are also sharply divided over the benchmark date for calculating the property value. Chairman Chey’s side argues that the date should be April 16, 2024, the conclusion date of the appellate trial deliberations, while Director Roh’s side is reportedly insisting that the stock price at the conclusion of the retrial deliberations should be reflected.

This is because the value of SK Inc. shares held by Chairman Chey has recently surged. The SK stock price, which was 160,000 Korean won per share at the conclusion of the appellate trial deliberations, has nearly quadrupled recently. Depending on the benchmark date for valuation, the scale of property division could differ by hundreds of billions of Korean won. Additionally, Chairman Chey’s side is also claiming that these shares are “separate property” inherited from his late father and thus do not need to be divided. Consequently, future trials are expected to involve debates over whether the SK shares should be considered joint marital property and, if so, which date should be used to evaluate the stock price.

Source: [https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/06/15/PWSMEVVCWNFRRIOLV4JE6PF42Y/](https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/06/15/PWSMEVVCWNFRRIOLV4JE6PF42Y/)

Mediation Fails in Chey Tae-won, Roh Soh-yeong Divorce Property Case