When you got married, your father-in-law became

When you got married, your father-in-law became a billionaire by giving you 30 billion Korean won, but when your father-in-law fell out, you cheated on him and insulted his wife by putting advertisements in the newspaper, and he says that your father-in-law's money is illegal funds. In Korea, this is called SK Chairman. After Chey Tae-won thoroughly betrayed his ex-wife, Roh So-young, along with a third party, Kim Hee-young, Asia's highest divorce proceedings began in earnest. This may be one of the most controversial divorce cases in the history of Korean chaebol. This is because there is no precedent in the history of divorce proceedings to start with illegal funds and then divide the property, claiming the invalidity of the funds.

In May 2024, the Seoul High Court set an Asian divorce settlement record, with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won ordering his ex-wife, Roh So-young, to split her assets worth W1.38 trillion. As expected, Choi immediately appealed, saying he was furious and did not want to give a single penny. In response, in October 2025, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea revoked the portion of the property split in the second trial and returned the case to the Seoul High Court. The Supreme Court's reason was that the KRW 30 billion (Korean currency) slush fund that Roh So-young's father, former President Roh Tae-woo, applied for SK's start-up was recognized as illegal funds, and the KRW 1.38 trillion split is likely to be greatly reduced because it cannot be seen as Roh's property contribution to SK.

It wasn't until May 13, 2026, that the Seoul High Court made its first retrial adjustment, but it ended in just an hour. The court quickly decided to revise it again for further adjustment. This is the fantastic reality of SK's divorce case. On the day of the adjustment, Noh So-young himself attended, but Choi only sent an agent and did not show up. This was in line with his image that he did not want to meet his ex-wife.

For those who haven't watched the drama, in a brief review, the case created a bizarre scene from 2022 to 2024. At the first trial, the court ordered Choi to pay W66.5 billion. The money is astronomical to the general public, but for Noh, it literally fell short of tossing a coin to a beggar. Considering that SK Group is the second largest conglomerate, this was too little. So-young Noh appealed, and Chairman Choi also appealed out of frustration, saying that he was giving too much to his ex-wife. All he wanted was nothing.

However, the second trial court drastically raised the amount to 1.38 trillion won and added 2 billion won (Korean currency) in compensation for mental damages. From 350 million yuan to 6.3 billion yuan, it was like a boss said he would increase his salary by 5 percent this year, but he actually increased it 18 times. In addition, Chairman Choi was dissatisfied during the first trial, but he managed to maintain his composure. However, after the second trial ruling, SK Group's stock price soared 16 percent to its biggest increase in four years, and it rose for the second consecutive day. The market applauded the real action. This happened once in a hundred years even in divorce cases.

Noh seemed certain of victory, but joy was fleeting, and on October 16, 2025, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea destroyed and remanded the portion of the second trial's decision. However, he maintained 2 billion won in compensation for mental damages. It is to turn around, turn around, and turn around.

So how did Chairman Choi start his business? The role of his father-in-law was crucial. As president, he was a strong supporter of the late Choi. After the war, he invested 30 billion won (Korean currency) in slush funds to enable SK Group to acquire a telecommunications license, pioneer the market, and finally join the ranks of chaebol. Without this backdrop, it was practically hard to dream of Choi becoming the chairman of SK Group today. However, Choi, who had said in court that the money was a huge contribution to SK, has now changed his mind that the money was illegal and should be excluded from the division of assets. His seemingly incoherent move was just a sound of tapping a calculator on his face.

In October 2025, what he claimed to the Supreme Court as illegal funds was adopted because Roh's W30 billion was illegal funds, and he could not receive legal protection under Article 746 of the Civil Code (providing illegal causes). Therefore, the money cannot be regarded as a contribution to Roh's property. With this, he not only justified himself, but also made a shocking move to channel all of the credit of the Roh family into illegal funds, astonishing the general public of Korea.

Currently, KRW 2 billion in compensation for mental damages has been confirmed, which will be jointly paid by Choi and Kim Hee-young. The two sides are also continuing to quarrel on the most basic aspects. Choi claims that his stake in SK is inherited and cannot be divided, while Roh claims that the stake in SK is the joint property of the couple. The legal battle is unlikely to be decided for the time being.

Meanwhile, Kim Hee-young's life has not been smooth, either. She probably had no idea that she would have to pay 2 billion won back with Choi. As soon as the verdict came out, she disappeared from social media, suspended her account, and went into quiet hiding. However, Korean paparazzi didn't miss her. In early 2026, she was spotted wearing a padded jumper worth over 20,000 yuan at a store in New York. Life in the U.S. looked quite prosperous.

In addition, her son continues to make headlines. He changed his last name to Choi to look good to his stepfather and is currently majoring in art at Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S. On his graduation day, Choi personally attended and shone, and he took a picture together introducing his friend, Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun. He seemed to care much more about his stepson than his own son.

Roh, on the other hand, still faces that unclear illegal funding controversy.