SK Group's Chey to Sell Stake to Fund Divorce Settlement

By Kwanwoo Jun

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won plans to sell part of his stake in the conglomerate's holding company to fund his divorce settlement with his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong.

SK Inc. said in a regulatory filing Friday that Chey, its largest shareholder, plans to sell 1,653,924 shares, or a 2.26% stake in the company. The transaction, through after-hours block trades, is scheduled to close on Nov. 2 and would reduce his personal stake to 15.49%.

"This is intended to meet the major shareholder's need for personal funds related to a property division lawsuit," SK said in a statement without elaborating.

SK officials said that Chey was preparing to pay the divorce settlement, even though the lawsuit involving his ex-wife is still underway.

The company valued the share sale at 944 billion won, equivalent to $694.6 million, the exact amount that a South Korean appeals court in July ordered Chey to pay Roh in what has been dubbed the country's "divorce of the century."

Both Chey and Roh have since separately appealed the decision to South Korea's Supreme Court.

Roh, the daughter of a late former South Korea president, married Chey in 1988 when her father took office, with their wedding held at the presidential Blue House for the country's so-called "marriage of the century." Roh and Chey, both 65 years old, have three adult children.

Their marriage unraveled in 2015, when Chey said in a three-page newspaper letter that he wanted a divorce, revealing he had fallen in love with another woman and had a child with her.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2026 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)