Choi Tae-won and Noh So-young Divorce Lawsuit Assigned to Supreme Court Division 1... Presiding Justice Seo Kyung-hwan in Charge

Composition of Supreme Court Justices Seo Kyung-hwan, Noh Tae-ak, Shin Sook-hee, and Noh Kyung-pil
Possibility of Referral to Full Bench
300 Billion Won Slush Fund and Issues in Revising the Second Trial Verdict

Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Noh So-young, director of Art Center Nabi, have had their divorce appeal case assigned to the Supreme Court's First Division. The presiding justice will be Seo Kyung-hwan (58, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 21).

According to the legal community on the 21st, the Supreme Court assigned the divorce case between Chairman Choi and Director Noh to the First Division. The First Division is composed of Justices Seo, Noh Tae-ak, Shin Sook-hee, and Noh Kyung-pil.

Seokyung Hwan, Supreme Court Justice.

Presiding Justice Seo graduated from Konkuk University High School and Seoul National University’s Department of Law, and was appointed as a judge at the Seoul Western District Court in 1995. He served as a Supreme Court judicial research judge and president of the Seoul Rehabilitation Court before being appointed as a Supreme Court justice in July last year.

During his tenure at the Gwangju High Court, he presided over the second trial of the Sewol ferry incident, overturning the first trial’s 36-year prison sentence for Captain Lee Jun-seok and sentencing him to life imprisonment. He also ordered a retrial in the 'Yakchon Five-way Intersection' case.

In the appeal trial, the main issue is expected to be whether the scope of property division set by the second trial court, which derived the astronomical amount of 1,380.8 billion won, was appropriate.

In particular, a key point of contention is the authenticity and nature of the 30 billion won slush fund of former President Roh Tae-woo, which the second trial court judged to have become seed money for the SunKyung Group, and whether evidence supporting this will be recognized.

Regarding the second trial court’s correction of the stock value of Daehan Telecom, the predecessor of SK C&C, which was mistakenly stated in the judgment and later amended, whether this correction is merely an error fix related to intermediate facts that, as explained by the second trial court, cannot affect the amount of property division or, as claimed by Chairman Choi’s side, a variable that inevitably affects the amount of property division, is also drawing attention to the Supreme Court’s judgment.

The retrial case filed by Chairman Choi’s side in objection to the second trial court’s correction is being continuously reviewed by the Supreme Court’s Second Division (presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi).

Due to the nature of the case, there is also a possibility that it will be referred to the full bench. The Supreme Court usually handles cases in small divisions composed of four justices, but cases with divided opinions, significant social implications, or those requiring precedent changes are referred to the full bench through a justices’ meeting.

However, regarding the possibility of referral to the full bench, opinions are divided. Some believe the possibility is low because divorce cases are rarely heard by the full bench, while others expect the Supreme Court to conduct in-depth review and revise existing legal principles, as this case comprehensively covers frequently disputed issues in family litigation.

Chairman Choi has appointed attorney Hong Seung-myeon (60, class 18), a former presiding judge of the Seoul High Court, while Director Noh has appointed attorney Choi Jae-hyung (68, class 13), who served as chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, president of the Seoul Family Court, and a member of the National Assembly, signaling a fierce legal battle ahead.

On the afternoon of April 16, Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group and Director Noh So-young of Art Center Nabi appeared side by side at the divorce appeal trial held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Choi married Director Noh in 1988 but applied for divorce mediation in court in July 2017. However, when mediation failed due to Director Noh’s opposition, he filed a divorce lawsuit in February 2020.

In the first trial in 2022, the court ruled that Chairman Choi’s SK shares were 'separate property' and not subject to division upon divorce, ordering Chairman Choi to pay Director Noh 66.5 billion won in property division and 100 million won in alimony.

On the other hand, in May, the second trial court recognized Director Noh’s contribution to the SK Inc. shares owned by Chairman Choi and ordered Chairman Choi to pay Director Noh 1.380817 trillion won in property division and 2 billion won in alimony.

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