Chey Tae-won, the chairman of South Korea’s SK Group, must hand over nearly $640 million to his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, following a ruling from an appellate court on July 24. This divorce saga, stretching back over a decade, has been dubbed the nation’s “divorce of the century” due to the staggering amounts involved rather than its personal drama.
Chey and Roh parted ways in 2011, but it was only in 2015 that he publicly sought a divorce after admitting to an affair. The case has dragged on, with previous court decisions awarding Roh close to $1 billion. However, South Korea’s Supreme Court stepped in last year and pushed for a reconsideration of the assets, leading to this latest, somewhat reduced sum.
The heart of the dispute lies in Chey’s controlling shares in SK Inc., the holding company steering the sprawling SK Group empire, which includes the chipmaker SK Hynix. Demand for SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory chips, vital for AI computing tasks, has skyrocketed thanks to the ongoing AI boom. This surge boosted SK Hynix’s valuation and, by extension, the value of SK Inc., making its shares a major point of contention for the settlement.
Chey’s stake in SK Inc. isn’t just about wealth; it’s about control. SK Group spans fields from semiconductors to energy and logistics, and any forced changes in share ownership could shift the delicate balance within this powerful conglomerate. So far, the court has ordered a cash settlement rather than requiring Chey to relinquish shares, easing immediate concerns over corporate governance upheaval, but the pressure remains significant.
For investors watching the AI chip market, SK Hynix stands out alongside Samsung and Micron as one of the few producers capable of large-scale cutting-edge HBM chip manufacturing. The company’s growth spree, fueled by relentless demand from tech giants like NVIDIA and AMD, points to continued strength. Still, the ongoing legal uncertainties around Chey’s personal affairs add a complex layer to the company’s future outlook.
