Court orders SK chief, cohabitant to jointly pay $1.5 mil. compensation to his estranged wife

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, left, and Roh Soh-yeong, his estranged wife, enter the Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, May 30, to attend a trial of appeal for their divorce. Yonhap

A Seoul court ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his live-in partner to pay 2 billion won ($1.49 million) in compensation to Chey’s estranged wife Roh So-yeong for causing mental pain to her through the relationship, Thursday.

In the compensation suit which Roh filed against Chey’s cohabitant, T&C Foundation President Kim Hee-young, the Seoul Family Court ruled that Kim should jointly pay 2 billion won, which the Seoul High Court had in May ordered Chey to pay to Roh as alimony.

"The affair between Kim and Chey, with the birth of their child out of wedlock and their public appearances together, significantly eroded the trust between Roh and Chey, ultimately leading to the breakdown of their marriage," the family court said in the ruling.

"It is evident that Roh suffered mental pain, so Kim is responsible to pay compensation to her."

It said Kim's responsibility is as grave as Chey's, so the two should share the burden of compensation.

In March last year, Roh filed a 3 billion won lawsuit for compensation against Kim, arguing that Kim's relationship with Chey had caused her severe emotional distress and contributed to the breakdown of her marriage.

Roh alleged that Kim, who was also married, approached Chey and maintained an affair, with Chey spending over 100 billion won on her since 2015.

On the other hand, Kim's side argued that Roh and Chey's marriage had been deteriorating for more than a decade before Kim became involved with Chey, asserting that Roh was primarily responsible for the marital breakdown. She also claimed that Roh's lawsuit was intended to gain a strategic advantage in the divorce proceedings.

The court, however, did not support Kim's claims, stating that it could not be concluded that Roh and Chey's marriage had already collapsed before the affair began or that Roh was to blame for its dissolution.

Roh's lawyers said Roh and her children's pain cannot be healed, claiming the high amount of compensation shows the court's willingness to protect family values.

Kim's side, on the other hand, said the marriage had been broken before Kim's involvement.

Separately from this lawsuit, Chey and Roh's divorce settlement suit is ongoing at the Supreme Court after the high court ruling. At the time, Chey waas ordered to pay Roh 2 billion won in alimony and 1.38 trillion won in property division — nearly 20 times more than the 66.5 billion won previously ordered by a lower court in December 2022.

Chey and Roh, who married in 1988, saw their relationship come to an end in 2015 after Chey admitted to an extramarital affair with Kim, with whom he had fathered a child out of wedlock.

Two years later, in July 2017, Chey filed for divorce against Roh. While Roh initially resisted the divorce, she shifted her stance in 2019 and countersued, demanding alimony and a fair division of their assets.