SK Chairman Chey Tae-won Ordered to Pay 2 Billion Won in Alimony... Legal Experts Call It "Highly Unusual"

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s appellate court ruling ordering him to pay 2 billion KRW in alimony to his wife, Noh So-young, director of the Art Center Nabi, has been met with a predominantly "highly unusual" reaction within the legal community.

Even considering the unique circumstances of this case?such as the clear responsibility of Chairman Chey for the breakdown of the marriage and the prolonged period of infidelity?the amount of alimony awarded for emotional damages is vastly different from what courts have traditionally recognized. Some predict that this ruling could influence an upward adjustment of average alimony amounts in the future.

From the left, Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, and Noh So-young, Director of Art Center Nabi.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 31st, the general consensus inside and outside the courts is that the upper limit for alimony awarded as damages for mental suffering by the at-fault spouse in divorce cases is around 100 million KRW. Considering this, Director Noh initially filed a counterclaim for 300 million KRW in alimony in 2019 and was awarded 100 million KRW. However, in the second trial, the claim was significantly expanded to 3 billion KRW, with 2 billion KRW ultimately recognized.

The Family Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Si-cheol) stated the day before that the 2 billion KRW alimony amount was determined by considering ▲ the reasons and duration of the marriage breakdown ▲ the defendant’s mental suffering ▲ and the plaintiff’s attitude to date. The court pointed out that the illicit relationship with Kim Hee-young, director of the T&C Foundation and cohabitant, had lasted at least since 2009, the mental suffering endured by Director Noh and their children, and Chairman Chey’s attitude of not sincerely apologizing despite the marriage having broken down since 2007.

Judge Kim, known for strictly holding the at-fault spouse liable for damages, previously ruled in June last year that the at-fault spouse must pay 200 million KRW in alimony, a decision that was finalized. During this trial, Judge Kim issued a preparatory order requiring Chairman Chey’s side to submit details of expenses paid to third parties during the marriage, and considered the fact that over 20 billion KRW was spent on Director Kim in calculating the alimony.

The legal community has received this ruling with some shock. Since the Constitutional Court’s ruling that abolished the adultery law, many judges believe that the responsibility for a spouse’s infidelity should be somewhat reflected by increasing alimony amounts, but 2 billion KRW is considered extremely exceptional.

Choi Tae-young, a partner lawyer at Daeryuk Aju with seven years of experience as a family court specialist judge at the Seoul Family Court, said, "It is true that the alimony amount is quite exceptional compared to previous rulings," adding, "While it may be difficult for such an alimony amount to have an immediate direct impact on other individual cases, it could influence an upward trend in average alimony amounts."

A current judge with family court experience, Judge A, said, "Usually, alimony is decided in amounts like 30 million KRW, 50 million KRW, or 70 million KRW, and in severe cases, it is generally thought that up to 100 million KRW can be recognized. Alimony of 2 billion KRW is unprecedented."

Attorney B, a former judge, commented, "It seems that one of the lawyers representing Director Noh, who took over the second trial after losing the first, strategically raised the alimony claim significantly," adding, "In the end, it was a successful strategy."

Another attorney pointed out, "The problem is that if alimony amounts suddenly increase like this, other cases might also see increases or need to increase amounts for fairness. Usually, in tort cases where a person’s death occurs, there is an upper limit on alimony amounts. From the perspective of legal interest infringement, it should be considered that greater responsibility cannot be imposed on the at-fault spouse in a divorce than in cases where a person’s life is taken."

Regarding the upcoming Supreme Court review, he predicted, "It is basically difficult for the Supreme Court to point out errors in alimony amount calculations, but if clear factual errors claimed by Chairman Chey’s side are proven and the alimony portion is specified as a reason for remand, there is room for the alimony amount to be adjusted."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.