SK Inc., the holding company of South Korea’s SK Group, said on Oct. 2 that Chairman Chey Tae-won will sell 1,653,924 shares in the company, equal to 2.3% of total shares, for 944 billion won. The filing said the purpose was to raise funds for personal needs through the sale of shares.
The amount is the same as the property division payment awarded to his former wife, Roh So-young, by the Seoul High Court in July. Roh is the director of the Art Center Nabi. Even so, SK Inc.’s filing only referred to personal funding needs and did not directly tie the sale to the divorce case. Chey has also filed a further appeal, so the final amount has not been fixed.
The report said 944 billion won is roughly equal to $690 million and about NT$22.3 billion.
Deal structure includes a strategic investor sale and a three-year PRS transaction
The sale will begin on Nov. 2 through after-hours block trades. Of the total, 544 billion won will be sold to a strategic investor, while the remaining 400 billion won will be handled through a price return swap, or PRS, with a securities firm. The contract period is three years.
According to an explanation cited from Women’s News, a PRS is a derivative transaction in which the parties first agree on a reference price and later settle the difference between that price and the stock price at the time of settlement, based on the contract terms. Dividing 944 billion won by the number of shares sold, the report estimated the price at about 571,000 won per share.
Chey’s holdings will decline, but he remains the top shareholder
After the transaction, Chey’s common shareholding in SK Inc. will drop from 12,975,472 shares to 11,321,548 shares.
- His personal stake will fall from 17.8% to 15.5%
- His stake including related parties will decline from 25.2% to 22.9%
- Based on voting shares, his individual holding will move from 23.9% to 20.8%
- Including related parties, voting-share ownership will fall from 33.5% to 30.5%
SK Inc. said the transaction would be carried out within a range that does not affect management stability, adding that the largest shareholder would continue to focus on responsible management and corporate value. Even after the sale, Chey will remain SK Inc.’s largest shareholder.
Remanded divorce ruling set property division at 944 billion won
According to South Korean outlet Newsis, the Family Division 1 of the Seoul High Court ruled on July 24 in a remanded trial that Chey must pay Roh 944 billion won in property division. A remanded trial in South Korea follows a Supreme Court ruling that vacates an earlier judgment and sends the case back to a lower court. It has been nine years since Chey filed for divorce mediation in 2017.
In the first trial, the court awarded 66.5 billion won in property division and 100 million won in consolation money. In the 2024 appellate ruling, the court recognized Roh’s contribution and increased the award to 1.3808 trillion won in property division and 2 billion won in consolation money.
In October 2025, South Korea’s Supreme Court said 30 billion won in “secret funds” tied to former President Roh Tae-woo, Roh So-young’s father, was bribery with no legally protectable value and could not readily be counted as a contribution to marital property division. The Supreme Court then vacated the property division portion of the appellate ruling and sent it back, while the consolation money portion became final.
Key dispute centers on whether SK shares should be divided and how they should be valued
During the remanded proceedings, the two sides disagreed over whether SK shares should be included in the marital estate and which point in time should be used for valuation. Mediation also failed.
The July 24 ruling set the division ratio at one-third for Roh and two-thirds for Chey. It included SK shares in the property division, used April 16, 2024 as the valuation date, and excluded the 30 billion won linked to Roh Tae-woo. Under the ruling, Chey would continue to hold the shares, while Roh’s portion would be paid in cash.
After the ruling, Chey’s side said, 「감당이 죄송하다, 재상고를 검토한 뒤 설명하겠다」, translated in the report as an apology and a statement that further explanation would come after reviewing another appeal. According to Hankyung BUSINESS, Chey’s side filed a further appeal on Aug. 14 and then asked the Seoul High Court on Aug. 31 to narrow the scope of that appeal.
Chey is challenging only 244 billion won of the ruling
Under that request, Chey’s side accepted 700 billion won out of the 944 billion won total and asked the Supreme Court to rule only on the remaining 244 billion won.
Chey’s side said the move was intended to narrow the dispute and resolve the matter more quickly. It accepted liability up to 700 billion won and argued that the amount above that level raises legal issues. The report also said this does not mean Chey accepts the inclusion of SK shares in the property division, even if the 700 billion won payment itself is no longer contested on appeal.
SK Inc.’s announced share sale amount is equal to the full 944 billion won awarded in the remanded ruling. Still, while 700 billion won has been accepted by Chey’s side, the remaining 244 billion won is still awaiting a Supreme Court decision. The transaction is scheduled to begin on Nov. 2.