SK Group chief's wife seeks $1.2B stake in divorce filing

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The wife of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has filed for divorce, demanding Chey's stake in the group's holding company SK Holdings, which is worth more than $1 billion, according to court records and media reports.

Roh So-young, the founder of Art Center Nabi and daughter of former President Roh Tae-woo, claimed around 5.5 million shares of SK Holdings, which are worth $1.18 billion, according to reports.

As of the end of September, Chey held about 13 million shares of SK Holdings to be the largest shareholder of the holding company for a stake of 18.44 percent.

If Chey accepts Roh's request, he would still be the largest shareholder of SK Holdings, but his stake would fall below 11 percent.

SK Group is South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, whose major affiliates are SK Hynix, the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, and SK Innovation, the country's primary refiner.

Chey, 59, is a nephew of SK Group founder Choi Jong-kun. He has led the group since 1998.

In a letter to the Segye Ilbo in 2015, Chey expressed his intention to divorce Roh, disclosing that they had spent many years apart. He said the couple experienced discord throughout their marriage and revealed the existence of a live-in girlfriend with whom he has a child.

Two years later, Chey sought a divorce settlement, but the court turned it down because Roh refused to accept it.

The couple were married in 1988 and have three children.