SK Group's Chey to sell $700 million stake in SK Corp after divorce ruling

SEOUL, Oct 2 : SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will sell a 2.26 per cent stake in SK Corp for about 944 billion won ($699.5 million) to fund a divorce settlement, though he will remain the top shareholder of the holding firm of the South Korean conglomerate, the company said on Friday.

The sale, which is due to begin on November 2, comes about two months after a South Korean court ordered Chey to pay 944 billion won to former spouse Roh Soh-yeong in a landmark divorce case, an award that analysts said at the time could force him to raise funds through borrowing, asset sales or share disposals.

The cash award to Roh 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.

After the sale, Chey will remain the biggest shareholder in SK Corp, the holding firm of the group's flagship chipmaker SK Hynix, with a 15.49 per cent stake, according to SK's regulatory filing.