Court Rules "No So-young Art Center Nabi Must Leave SK Seorin Building"... SK Innovation Wins First Trial (Comprehensive)

Court Orders Delivery Following Sublease Termination
Judgment for Over 1 Billion Won Compensation and Monthly Payment of 24.89 Million Won
No So-young's Side Says "It's Too Much No Matter How You Look at It"

No So-young, director of ‘Art Center Nabi,’ has been ordered by the first-instance court to vacate the SK Group headquarters. This ruling comes about 20 days after the appellate decision in the divorce lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Director No.

Noh So-young, Director of Art Center Nabi. [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 21st, Judge Lee Jae-eun of the Civil Division 36 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled in the first trial of the real estate delivery claim lawsuit filed by SK Innovation against Director No, stating, “Art Center Nabi must deliver the real estate to SK Innovation and pay approximately 1.0456 billion KRW plus delayed damages,” partially ruling in favor of the plaintiff. Furthermore, the court ordered payment to the plaintiff calculated at a rate of 24.89 million KRW per month from April 1, 2023, until the delivery is completed.

The court stated, “Since the sublease contract between SK Innovation and Art Center Nabi was lawfully terminated according to the specified date, the defendant is obligated to deliver the subleased property.”

It added, “The defendant argued that the sublease contract was made to preserve SK Group’s intangible cultural heritage and contribute to SK’s cultural management, and that it cannot be unilaterally terminated unless the defendant engages in activities deviating from this purpose. However, there is no evidence to recognize the defendant’s claim as a natural premise of the sublease contract.”

Regarding the claim that “the plaintiff’s sudden filing of this lawsuit against the defendant after the first-instance divorce ruling is a breach of contract and an act of breach of trust, thus invalid,” the court rejected it, stating, “This is a termination notice and real estate delivery claim under the sublease contract between the plaintiff and defendant, and there is no evidence to consider this a breach of contract or breach of trust.” Additionally, the argument that “the real estate delivery claim is inseparable from the divorce lawsuit between Chairman Chey and Director No and should be judged after the final result” was dismissed as “not having any special characteristics.”

Earlier, at the last hearing held on the 31st of last month, the defendant’s legal representative stated, “If the plaintiff still has no intention to mediate, we have no further claims or evidence to present,” adding, “The Seoul High Court’s divorce ruling between Chairman Chey Tae-won and the defendant mentioned this case. We expect the plaintiff to review that intention and take appropriate measures.”

The real estate SK Innovation is demanding to vacate is the 4th floor of the Seorin Building, SK Group headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where Art Center Nabi is located. The Seorin Building is owned by SK REITs, and SK Innovation leased it and subleased it to Art Center Nabi. Although the building lease contract ended in September 2019, Art Center Nabi has been occupying it without permission, causing significant operational losses. Therefore, SK Innovation filed a lawsuit demanding eviction in April last year.

As Director No’s side did not respond, the court scheduled a ruling after a default judgment. However, after the defendant submitted a late response, the court canceled the default judgment. Subsequently, to narrow the differences between the parties, the court held two mediation sessions in November last year, but mediation failed, leading to a formal trial.

This lawsuit also served as a basis for calculating alimony in the appellate divorce case between Chairman Chey and Director No. The Family Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Si-cheol), handling their divorce case, mentioned that although Chairman Chey made a significant donation to establish a foundation for Kim Hee-young, the cohabitant and director of the T&C Foundation, SK Innovation’s eviction lawsuit likely caused Director No considerable mental distress, awarding 2 billion KRW in alimony.

Lee Sang-won, a lawyer from Law Firm Pyeongan representing Director No, said immediately after the ruling, “This is a museum relocated 25 years ago at Chairman Chey’s request, and I feel this is excessive,” adding, “We will consider whether to appeal, but given the current heat and the uncertainty of where to go, there are many concerns.”

On the other hand, SK Innovation stated, “This ruling appears to have considered that Art Center Nabi had very few exhibitions characteristic of a museum over the past several years,” adding, “Art Center Nabi already has exhibition spaces elsewhere and holds over 12 billion KRW in liquid assets, so relocation should not be a problem.”

Meanwhile, the damages lawsuit filed by Director No against Chairman Chey’s cohabitant, Director Kim, is also ongoing. The ruling for this case is scheduled for August 22.

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