Choi Tae-won Appeals 9440 Billion Won Ruling in Divorce Case Against Roh So-young: Why Payment Is Not Yet Due and What the Supreme Court Will Review
SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won has filed another appeal against a ruling by the Seoul High Court on remand ordering him to pay KRW 944,000,000,000 in property division to Roh So-young, director of Art Center Nabi. With the new appeal filed on August 14, KRW 944,000,000,000 is not yet a final, legally binding amount. The annual 5% in default interest, which is scheduled to begin accruing the day after the judgment becomes final, is also not currently accruing.
The first distinction to make in this renewed appeal is between the matters already finalized and those still being contested. The couple's divorce and the KRW 2,000,000,000 in damages that Choi must pay have already been finalized by an earlier Supreme Court decision. The central issue returning to the Supreme Court is the property division award set at KRW 944,000,000,000.
Why Has Choi Tae-won Taken the KRW 944,000,000,000 Ruling Back to the Supreme Court?
The specific legal grounds for the renewed appeal have not yet been publicly disclosed in detail. Choi's representatives said they filed the appeal after considering various circumstances and indicated that they would seek to minimize adverse effects on shareholders and the group's management. It would therefore be inaccurate at this stage to conclude that the appeal was filed for any single particular reason.
Two issues are being discussed in legal and business circles. One is whether Choi's side may seek another legal review of how the court on remand calculated the property division ratio and determined which assets should be included. The other is the question of paying KRW 944,000,000,000 in cash. Some recent reports have said that Choi's side considered a combination of cash and shares but failed to reach an agreement with Roh's side on the payment method. However, these reports are based on information obtained from sources, not on grounds for the renewed appeal officially announced by the court. That distinction is important.
In other words, what can currently be stated with certainty is that Choi filed his renewed appeal on August 14, preventing the ruling on remand from becoming final without further review. The precise legal grounds for the appeal may become clearer through the subsequent submission of the statement of grounds for appeal and the Supreme Court's review.
How Was the KRW 944,000,000,000 Amount Determined?
KRW 944,000,000,000 was not the amount originally awarded. As Choi Tae-won and Roh So-young's property division case moved through the courts, the assessment of the assets involved and each party's contribution changed substantially.
In December 2022, the 1 trial court ruled that Choi should pay Roh KRW 66,500,000,000 in property division and KRW 100,000,000 in damages. At the time, the court excluded a substantial portion of Choi's SK-related shareholdings from the assets subject to division.
The appellate court's decision in May 2024 was significantly different. The property division award increased to KRW 1,380,800,000,000, while damages rose to KRW 2,000,000,000. Subsequently, in October 2025, the Supreme Court overturned the property division portion of the judgment and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court, while upholding the divorce and the KRW 2,000,000,000 damages award. The Supreme Court held, in essence, that illicit funds associated with the late former President Roh Tae-woo's KRW 30,000,000,000 should not be treated as a contribution by Roh So-young to the accumulation of marital assets.
In 2026-07-24, the Seoul High Court reconsidered the assets in the proceedings on remand and set Roh's share at 1 out of 3, ordering Choi to pay KRW 944,000,000,000. At the same time, it maintained the determination that Choi's SK shares themselves could be subject to property division.
How Much Did the Award Decrease From KRW 1,380,800,000,000?
According to the author's calculation, the difference between the appellate court's earlier award of KRW 1,380,800,000,000 and the latest award of KRW 944,000,000,000 is KRW 436,800,000,000.
The calculation is as follows.
KRW 1,380,800,000,000 - KRW 944,000,000,000 = KRW 436,800,000,000
The percentage decrease is approximately 31.6%.
KRW 436,800,000,000 ÷ KRW 1,380,800,000,000 × 100 ≈ 31.6%
Therefore, following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn and remand the case, the property division award decreased by nearly 1 out of 3. This does not mean that KRW 944,000,000,000 has already become final. The renewed appeal means the case must undergo another legal review by the Supreme Court.
Does the Renewed Appeal Mean Choi Does Not Have to Pay KRW 944,000,000,000 Right Now?
For now, because the judgment on remand has not become final, Choi is not yet required to pay KRW 944,000,000,000 immediately. The Seoul High Court ordered that, in addition to the property division amount, Choi must pay annual default interest at 5% from the day after the judgment becomes final until the full amount is paid.
Had Choi not filed another appeal by August 14, the judgment on remand could have proceeded toward becoming final. However, because the appeal was filed within the prescribed period, the case will return to the Supreme Court, pushing back the date on which the judgment can become final.
The important point here concerns default interest.
Applying an annual rate of 5% to KRW 944,000,000,000 produces, according to the author's calculation, KRW 47,200,000,000 per 1 year.
KRW 944,000,000,000 × 5% = KRW 47,200,000,000
Dividing that by 365 days gives approximately KRW 129,320,000 per day.
KRW 47,200,000,000 ÷ 365 days ≈ KRW 129,320,000
This is why a figure of approximately KRW 130,000,000 per day has been mentioned. However, that money has not been automatically accumulating since 2026-08-15. Because the operative part of the judgment on remand specifies that default interest begins on the day after the judgment becomes final, the condition for interest to start accruing has not yet been met while the renewed appeal remains pending.
This is one of the easiest aspects of the case to misunderstand. The renewed appeal has not eliminated the KRW 944,000,000,000 award. Conversely, Choi is not currently required to pay KRW 944,000,000,000 together with KRW 130,000,000 in daily interest.
Will the Supreme Court Recalculate KRW 944,000,000,000 From Scratch?
Rather than conducting a fresh investigation of all the facts, the Supreme Court primarily reviews questions of law, determining whether the judgment on remand contains legal errors. It would therefore be inaccurate to describe the process as simply recalculating KRW 944,000,000,000 because the amount is considered too high or too low.
During the proceedings on remand, the Seoul High Court applied the legal principles previously set out by the Supreme Court while reassessing whether SK shares were subject to property division, the standards used to value the assets, and the extent of Roh's contribution. It then calculated the award at KRW 944,000,000,000. If Choi's side argues that the legal principles applied in that process were flawed, those issues could become central to the renewed appeal. However, because the specific grounds for appeal have not all been disclosed, it is too early to determine which issues the Supreme Court will focus on.
The procedural steps will not lead immediately to a judgment. Once the Seoul High Court forwards the appeal documents and case records to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court will notify the parties that the records have been received. If the notice of appeal does not contain all the specific grounds, the appellant must submit a statement of grounds for appeal within the prescribed period after receiving that notification. The opposing party may also submit a response. According to the procedure outlined by The Law Times, the deadline for submitting the statement of grounds for appeal is 20 days from receipt of the notice that the records have been received, while the opposing party has 10 days after service of the statement to submit a response.
If the Supreme Court ultimately upholds the judgment on remand, the property division award of KRW 944,000,000,000 could become final. If it finds legal errors, the judgment could change again. The mere fact that another appeal has been filed does not mean that KRW 944,000,000,000 will be reduced or eliminated.
The Issues Already Settled and Those Still Pending Are Different
The entire divorce case between Choi Tae-won and Roh So-young has not returned to square one. The most important distinction at present is that the divorce and damages have already been finalized, while the property division award has not.
The Supreme Court previously finalized the couple's divorce and Choi's obligation to pay KRW 2,000,000,000 in damages. Only the property division portion was overturned at that time, and the Seoul High Court reconsidered that portion, arriving at KRW 944,000,000,000. The latest appeal brings that property division determination back before the Supreme Court.
The sequence is easier to understand chronologically.
December 2022 1 Trial Court
Property division: KRW 66,500,000,000; damages: KRW 100,000,000
↓
May 2024 Appellate Court
Property division: KRW 1,380,800,000,000; damages: KRW 2,000,000,000
↓
October 2025 Supreme Court
Property division portion overturned and remanded
Divorce and KRW 2,000,000,000 in damages finalized
↓
2026-07-24 Proceedings on Remand
Property division: KRW 944,000,000,000
↓
2026-08-14 Renewed Appeal by Choi Tae-won
The KRW 944,000,000,000 property division award returns to the Supreme Court for review
The most accurate description of the current situation is therefore: 'The court on remand ruled that Choi Tae-won must pay Roh So-young KRW 944,000,000,000, and Choi has appealed that ruling again.' Describing KRW 944,000,000,000 as a final, confirmed award would not accurately reflect the current status of the proceedings.
The First Thing to Watch Is the Grounds for Appeal, Not the Supreme Court's Final Decision
The first development to watch in the next stage is not necessarily when KRW 944,000,000,000 will actually be paid, but which legal errors Choi's side alleges in its renewed appeal.
The public statements available as of August 14 do not reveal all the specific grounds for appeal. Although reports have emerged about discussions involving payment in cash and shares, the legal issues that the Supreme Court can review are what matter when seeking to overturn a property division judgment.
It is also difficult to predict when the Supreme Court will reach its conclusion. The filing of a renewed appeal does not justify assuming that a decision will come within a particular number of months or that KRW 944,000,000,000 will become payable on a specific date. What can currently be confirmed is that the appeal has delayed the judgment on remand from becoming final and that the Supreme Court's legal review will proceed following the submission of the grounds for appeal and the opposing party's response.
Focusing only on the figure KRW 944,000,000,000 makes it easy to miss the central significance of this renewed appeal. The most important change at present concerns not the amount of money, but whether the judgment is final. KRW 944,000,000,000 is the property division amount set by the Seoul High Court on remand, but as of 2026-08-15, it is not a final, legally binding amount. Accordingly, the annual 5% in default interest that would apply from the day after the judgment becomes final has not yet begun accruing.
Going forward, the key question is whether the Supreme Court upholds the legal reasoning behind the property division judgment on remand or finds legal errors sufficient to overturn it again. Only after that determination will it become clear at what stage the final property division amount and the corresponding payment obligation are legally established.
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