The Seoul High Court ruled for a 65:35 asset division between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong on May 30. This decision has created a challenging situation for Chey’s siblings, including Chey Chang-won, chairman of the SK SUPEX Council, who ceded management rights to Chey Tae-won 26 years ago, and Chey Jae-won, senior vice chairman of SK, who relinquished his inheritance shares. Their move was intended to stabilize the group’s governance, but the recent ruling could jeopardize this stability.
In 1998, SK Group faced potential disputes over management rights following the sudden passing of Chairman Chey Jong-hyon without leaving a will. In response, the late SK founder Chey Jong-gun’s sons (Chey Yoon-won, Chey Shin-won, Chey Chang-won) and Chairman Chey Jong-hyon’s sons (Chey Tae-won, Chey Jae-won) held a family meeting. The late SK Chemical Chairman, Chey Yoon-won, the founder’s eldest son, advocated for Chey Tae-won as the most capable among them, leading to Chey unanimously succeeding as chairman. Chey Tae-won’s siblings, SK Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, and SK Happiness Foundation President Chey Kee-won, renounced their inheritance of significant SK shares. This enabled Chey to inherit all of SK Corporation’s shares, totaling 2.85%, held by SK Trading, the holding company at the time, thereby becoming the major shareholder and chairman. Chey further increased his stake to 23.4% in SK Corporation through share acquisitions and mergers and acquisitions by 2015. An industry insider said, “The SK family, which has grown through collective management, believes that management rights belong to the entire family, not to an individual. This court ruling threatens that stability.”
In 2018, Chey Tae-won expressed gratitude to his family for their support, distributing 5.11% of SK Corporation shares, worth around 1 trillion won, among 23 relatives. However, the appellate court included these shares as joint marital assets subject to division. Chey must now allocate 35% of these shares, which were already given to his family, to Roh, potentially involving additional financial compensation. The industry insider said, “For Chey Tae-won’s siblings, who sacrificed their rights for management stability, this situation is bewildering.”
This article was originally published on June 1, 2024.
