AI billionaire who left wife for younger lover ordered to pay $645M in South Korea's 'divorce of the century'

Key Points:

• South Korean billionaire Chey Tae-won was ordered by a court to pay his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, approximately $645 million in cash, significantly less than the nearly $1 billion she initially sought in their high-profile divorce case.
• The legal battle, dubbed South Korea’s “divorce of the century,” involved Chey’s affair and child with another woman, Roh’s connection to a former president, and disputes over the origins and value of SK Group’s fortune amid an AI-driven stock surge.
• Chey’s wealth, estimated around $5 billion before the ruling, was central to the case, with the court awarding Roh about one-third of his holdings based on their value before SK Hynix’s shares soared due to the AI boom.
• The divorce saga began with Chey’s 2015 public confession about his affair and child outside the marriage, ending a union that had symbolized a powerful alliance between South Korea’s business and political elite.
• The dispute also involved allegations of secret funding linked to the SK empire’s expansion, which Chey’s side denied, while the case’s outcome may still be appealed to South Korea’s Supreme Court.