SK's divorce bill stopped being about 944 billion won and became a share overhang

The dispute between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong is no longer about the size of the award; both sides have had the number since last month. What broke the settlement was the medium of payment, which turns a family matter into a share-register question for anyone holding SK.

Chey, 65, has filed a second appeal to the Supreme Court against the remanded appellate ruling ordering him to pay 944 billion won ($687 million) in asset division to Roh, 65, director of the Art Center Nabi, closing a nine-year case that is not closed ^[1][2][3]. According to the legal community as reported by Seoul Economic Daily, the appeal came out of a tug-of-war over method: Chey's side proposed a mix of cash and SK shares, and Roh's side demanded the full amount in cash, as the ruling states ^[4]. Sources cited in the same report say Chey's side had initially considered accepting the ruling handed down on the 24th of last month and ending the litigation ^[5]. The obstacle was raising 944 billion won in cash in roughly three weeks, before the second appeal deadline on the 14th ^[6].

That is the governance point, stated plainly. Offloading a large volume of SK shares fast was seen as risking a drop in the share price and instability in the group's control structure ^[7]. So Chey offered to pay in stock, cover any shortfall if the price fell, and claim nothing back if it rose, which is a put written in Roh's favour ^[8]. Roh's side held to cash ^[4].

The arithmetic has moved against the stock option. The remanded appellate court used April 16, 2024, the close of appellate arguments, as the valuation reference date ^[13], then set the split at 33.3% to Roh and 66.6% to Chey after factoring in a more than fivefold rise from 160,000 won to 858,000 won, on a finding that Roh had contributed in part to the group's corporate value ^[14][15][16]. Shares have since fallen more than 30%, to around 500,000 won ^[18]. At 858,000 won, 944 billion won is about 1.1 million shares; at 500,000 won it is about 1.89 million, roughly 72% more paper to place ^[19].

Delay is priced. Once the ruling is finalised, 5% annual late-payment interest begins the next day at about 130 million won a day ^[9], on the order of 47 billion won a year ^[20]. Contesting the full sum runs to tens of billions of won in filing fees alone, per the legal community ^[11]. Chey's team disclosed the appeal at 11:59 p.m. on the 14th, one minute inside the deadline ^[10].

Watch whether the Supreme Court takes the substantive question rather than the timing. Chey is expected to argue that reflecting post-reference-date price movements in the division ratio is logically contradictory, and to point at the recent 30%-plus decline ^[17][18]; the stated key issues are the division-ratio principles and the valuation reference date ^[12]. A remand reopens the number. A dismissal restarts the interest meter at 130 million won a day and leaves Chey funding cash ^[9]. For SK minorities the exposure is the same either way: whether close to 1.9 million shares eventually have to find a buyer, and on whose schedule ^[19].