Choi Tae-won and Noh So-young Property Division Hearing Intensifies... Will All 13 Supreme Court Justices Hear Opinions?

Published 13 Nov.2024 13:06(KST)

Judgment by Supreme Court After Expiration of Psychological Non-Performance Period
Conclusion Expected as Plenary or Reported Case

As the property division case between SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and Noh So-young, director of Art Center Nabi, undergoes detailed review by the Supreme Court, the legal community is keenly interested in whether this landmark trial?concerning the largest property division amount in history and alimony worth tens of billions of won?will be decided by the Chief Justice and all 13 Supreme Court justices. The couple’s divorce case entered the stage for full Supreme Court judgment after the period for summary dismissal passed on the 8th.

Yonhap News

The term ‘summary dismissal’ refers to a system allowing the Supreme Court to dismiss an appeal without additional review within four months of case acceptance. The Supreme Court may summarily dismiss an appeal within four months if there is no issue with the lower court’s ruling.

The first division (Division 1) justices determined that this case requires detailed review. The justices in Division 1 are Noh Tae-ak (62, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 16), Seo Kyung-hwan (58, class 21), Shin Sook-hee (55, class 25), and Noh Kyung-pil (60, class 23), with Justice Seo serving as the presiding justice.

There are two scenarios in which a case is brought before the full bench of justices. One is the official referral to the full bench (en banc) for judgment by all 13 justices, and the other is an informal ‘report case’ where the opinions of all justices are gathered unofficially before the division issues a ruling.

Not all cases with legal disputes or significant social attention are decided by the full bench. Full bench review occurs only when: △ the four-justice division cannot reach unanimous agreement, △ there is unanimous consensus on the need to overturn existing precedents, or △ the Chief Justice refers the case ex officio to establish legal standards.

In this case, key issues include whether the appellate court’s recognition of Director Noh’s contribution to SK Inc. shares and inclusion of those shares in the property division was appropriate; whether the 35% contribution attributed to her is reasonable; and whether the alimony amount of 2 billion won, described as the ‘highest amount ever,’ is excessive. Particularly regarding alimony, if the large sum of 2 billion won is upheld as is, it would represent a change in existing legal principles on alimony calculation, prompting arguments for full bench review.

There is also significant possibility that the case will proceed as a report case, an informal method. In a report case, the justices’ opinions are comprehensively heard but the case is not officially referred to the full bench. After gathering opinions, the ruling is made by the division. Many legal experts predict this approach is likely given the high social interest and numerous issues, which could make a division-only ruling burdensome. Furthermore, if decided by the full bench, sensitive matters such as presidential slush funds and infidelity would be explicitly addressed in the judgment by all justices, which may be a reason to keep the ruling within the division.

However, some believe the conclusion will be reached under the judgment of the Division 1 justices. They argue that despite the large property division amount and the high-profile nature of the case, the issues are not substantially different from typical divorce cases, reducing the need for full bench review.

In December 2022, the first trial ordered Chairman Chey to pay Director Noh 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in property division. However, in May, the appellate court ruled that both the alimony and property division amounts were too low. The appellate court ordered Chairman Chey to pay 2 billion won in alimony and approximately 1.38 trillion won in property division. This amount represents the largest scale ever for alimony and property division combined.