A South Korean court has ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay 944 billion won ($NZ1.116bn) in a divorce case that has cast a spotlight on the billionaire's stake in the nation's second-largest conglomerate, its fortunes lifted by AI.

The cash award to Chey's former spouse, Roh Soh-yeong, is a record for South Korea, even though substantially lower than a settlement of 1.38 trillion won ordered by the appeals court in 2024.

Fund managers and analysts said it meant Chey may still need to sell shares in units of SK Group or use them as collateral to raise funds for payment, but probably would not affect management control of the conglomerate.

"This likely won't affect management control of SK Group," said Park Ju-gun, head of corporate analysis firm Leaders Index.

SK Group's international profile has soared on the back of the artificial intelligence boom.

Its chip affiliate, SK Hynix, has become a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used with Nvidia's AI processors, making the company one of the biggest beneficiaries of surging demand for advanced semiconductors.

"We apologise for causing concern and will decide whether to appeal after reviewing the court ruling," said Lee Jae-keun, a lawyer representing Chey.

SK Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

Roh's lawyers did not comment to reporters.

Shares of SK Inc. closed down 3.8%, while SK Hynix dropped 8.3% in Seoul trading.

Friday's ruling came after the Supreme Court overturned part of a lower court's verdict in the divorce settlement case last year.

The Supreme Court said alleged funds provided to the group by Roh's father, former President Roh Tae-woo, could not be treated as a legally protected contribution.

The divorce itself, and damages of 2 billion won, had already been finalised.

Chey is not a direct shareholder of SK Hynix. But he is the largest shareholder of SK Inc, which holds a stake of 32% in the chipmaker's top shareholder, SK Square. His wealth is estimated at $US5.4 billion ($NZ9.3b) , according to Forbes.

 

INCREASED INVESTOR FOCUS ON HOLDING COMPANY STAKE

The case has increased investor focus on Chey's 17.9% stake in SK Inc, the group's holding company, and whether a large cash award could force him to raise funds through borrowing, asset sales or share pledges.

The court said Chey's SK Inc shares and other holdings remained subject to division, as they were acquired during the marriage and both parties contributed to their creation, maintenance and increase in value.

Roh's contributions included child-rearing, household responsibilities and external activities related to SK Group, it added.

The court also said it did not take into account alleged financial support from Roh's father in calculating the division ratio, in line with the Supreme Court ruling.

On Friday, the Seoul High Court said Chey's shareholdings should be valued as of April 16, 2024, when the original appeals court concluded fact-finding in the divorce case, citing Supreme Court precedent.

While Chey's shareholdings rose sharply after the original appeal hearing, it said the increase did not warrant adopting a later valuation date and was instead reflected in determining the parties' respective shares of the marital estate.

On Friday, the court set the property division ratio at a third for Roh and two-thirds for Chey, down from the share of 35% the appeals court awarded Roh in 2024.

It also said Chey would retain ownership of the shares and satisfy the award through a cash payment rather than a transfer of stock, citing the shares' role in maintaining management control of the SK Group.

The case could return to the Supreme Court if either side challenges the Seoul High Court's ruling.

— Reuters