According to media reports from Hankyung, the Korean Daily News, and other sources, the second-instance trial of the divorce settlement case between Choi Tae-yoon, president of the South Korean SK Group, and his ex-wife, Lu Suying, the director of the Art Museum “Butterfly Art Center,” was announced on the 24th. The court ruled that Choi Tae-yoon must pay Lu Suying 944 billion won (approximately 4.37 billion yuan) as part of the divorce settlement. From the date when the judgment takes effect until the full payment is made, a penalty interest rate of 5% per year will be charged. The amount determined in the second-instance trial was 1.3808 trillion won (approximately 6.39 billion yuan), which is about 400 billion won (approximately 1.84 billion yuan) less than the original amount.
The Seoul High Court’s Family Affairs Division issued the above judgment on that day. The court did not explain the reasons for the judgment verbally in court, but considering the amount of property division, the court may consider the SK shares held by Choi Tae-yeon as part of the property to be divided.
According to reports, Choi Tae-yeon and Lu Suying married in September 1988 and have three children. Since Choi Tae-yeon filed for divorce mediation in 2017, the legal dispute between them has continued to this day.
In December 2022, the first-instance court ordered Choi Tae-won to pay 100 million Korean won in compensation for mental distress and 66.5 billion Korean won in property division to Lu Suying. In May 2024, the second-instance court ordered Choi Tae-won to pay 2 billion Korean won in compensation for mental distress and to divide a property worth 1.3808 trillion Korean won. In October of last year, the Supreme Court remanded the property division part for further consideration in the second instance, but granted the couple a divorce.
