'Divorce of the century' reads like a K-drama script

Korean tycoon's wife demands $1.6b for divorce after he publicly admits to affair

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won arriving in Seoul to attend a hearing at the National Assembly in December 2016. His wife Roh Soh-yeong is now demanding $1.6 billion worth of shares held by him in the company as part of the settlement, in what is bill
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won arriving in Seoul to attend a hearing at the National Assembly in December 2016. His wife Roh Soh-yeong is now demanding $1.6 billion worth of shares held by him in the company as part of the settlement, in what is billed as "divorce of the century". The couple married in 1988 and have three adult children. PHOTO: REUTERS
Ms Chloe Kim, founder of non-profit T&C Foundation, in a photo posted on Facebook. She used to visit Mr Chey Tae-won often when he was jailed. They have been living together since and have a daughter aged nine.
Ms Chloe Kim, founder of non-profit T&C Foundation, in a photo posted on Facebook. She used to visit Mr Chey Tae-won often when he was jailed again in 2014. They have been living together and have a daughter aged nine. PHOTO: T&C FOUNDATION/FACEBOOK
Ms Roh Soh-yeong is the daughter of former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo. An acquaintance told a South Korean newspaper that their marriage was strained because of different personalities. Rumours of a split emerged in June 2012. PHOTO: ROH SOH-
Ms Roh Soh-yeong is the daughter of former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo. An acquaintance told a South Korean newspaper that their marriage was strained because of different personalities. Rumours of a split emerged in June 2012. PHOTO: ROH SOH-YEONG/ FACEBOOK

A ruthless businessman meets a young, beautiful and kind woman and falls in love. Problem is, he is already married to a politician's daughter and they have three children.

He decides to seek divorce and goes as far as to publicly confess his change of heart. His wife, after years of trying to keep the family together, finally agrees to split. But she wants half of his money.

Sounds like the messy love affairs that Korean dramas are made of?

Well, this is the real-life story of 59-year-old Chey Tae-won, chairman of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, SK Group. He is also the seventh richest man in the country with a net worth of US$4.7 billion (S$6.4 billion), according to Forbes.

His wife Roh Soh-yeong is now demanding 1.4 trillion won (S$1.6 billion) worth of shares held by him, in what is billed as "divorce of the century" when news broke last week.

"Now I think it's right to let my husband go find the happiness he wants so desperately," Ms Roh, 58, posted on her Facebook page last Wednesday, after filing a suit for asset division in a counterclaim against Mr Chey, who first sought divorce in 2017.

"I've been trying to build, protect and keep my family together the past few years. Even though it was a tough and humiliating time, I waited, holding on to a ray of hope. But now I can't see hope any more."

Theirs was a match made in the US after meeting while studying at the University of Chicago.

He was being groomed as the heir to SK Group, while she was the daughter of a powerful army general-turned-politician.

They tied the knot in 1988 - the year Ms Roh's father Roh Tae-woo was inaugurated as the sixth president of South Korea.

Talk had it that the SK Group, which started as a textile company, expanded rapidly during Mr Roh's term and was given preferential treatment in projects.

Though not as famous overseas as its rivals Samsung and Hyundai, the group owns South Korea's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom, biggest petrol station operator SK Innovation, and second largest semiconductor firm SK Hynix.

Ms Roh, meanwhile, gave birth to two daughters and a son.

Daughter Yoon-chung, 30, joined SK's biopharmaceutical arm in 2017, while her sister Min-jeong, 27, served in the navy before joining SK Hynix in August this year. Son In-keun, 24, is said to be attending Brown University in the US.

Ms Roh also inherited an art gallery from her mother-in-law in 2000, which she turned into a digital art museum known as Art Centre Nabi.

On the surface, their marriage was a picture of bliss but a storm was already brewing, as Mr Chey ran into trouble with the law.

In 1994, he was investigated over slush fund allegations involving his father-in-law. Mr Roh, whose presidency had ended, was facing charges of corruption and accused of transferring US$200,000 from his secret Swiss bank account to his daughter and son-in-law. The charges were eventually dropped.

In 2003, though, Mr Chey was found guilty of accounting fraud worth 1.5 trillion won. He was sentenced to three years in jail, but served only three months as the rest of the term was suspended following an appeal.

He was jailed again in 2014 for misappropriation of corporate funds.

Rumours of a split emerged in June 2012. Sources told local media that the couple had been separated since September 2011.

Hankyoreh newspaper cited an acquaintance as saying that Mr Chey found out that his wife said negative things about him when he was being investigated for embezzlement the year before. It "came as a major shock... and left him feeling angry and betrayed".

Another acquaintance told the newspaper that their marriage was strained because of their different personalities.

She was known to be a strong, opinionated woman used to getting what she wanted - to the extent of yelling at her chauffeurs and throwing things at them when things didn't go her way, according to reports - while he was described as an unassuming, grounded man.

"At one point, Roh demanded a divorce, which hurt him deeply. He put up with it because of what it would mean for the group's management and social repercussions," said the acquaintance, adding that their marriage was strained because of different personalities.

"It's basically the tragic ending of a strategic marriage where neither side trusts the other."

Mr Chey was released from prison in August 2015 on a presidential pardon. Four months later, he shocked the country by going public with his extramarital affair, despite it being a taboo in South Korea's conservative society.

"Today, I want to make a shameful confession not as a businessman but as a human being," he wrote in a letter sent to Segye Ilbo newspaper.

He said his marriage had been falling apart over the past 10 years, despite efforts to save the relationship. "Meanwhile, I met someone who gave me comfort. She helped me overcome all the hardship and I started dreaming of a life with her. Our baby was born one summer a few years ago."

He admitted that it was wrong of him to have two families, and that he had been separated from his wife for a long time. "As it is my fault, I can't wish for blessings, but I hope I can at least be responsible to my child and the child's mother."

The mistress has been identified as American-Korean divorcee Chloe Kim, who shot to fame on the Korean social networking platform Cyworld for being a beautiful, elegant mum.

Ms Kim, 44, has since founded the non-profit group T&C Foundation, which aims to nurture youth and help the underprivileged. Speculation has it that the letter "T" refers to Mr Chey (Tae-won), while "C" refers to Ms Kim (Chloe).

The couple apparently met around 2003 at a gathering, and she visited him often when he was jailed again in 2014. They lived together in a posh neighbourhood in Seoul with their daughter, now nine, despite Ms Roh's initial refusal to divorce.

Given the complexity of their relationship, Ms Kim became the target of cyber bullying and hate comments. But she won a case against nine members of an Internet cafe who posted slanderous comments about her. The court in September ordered the group to pay her 173 million won in damages - a hefty sum.

Love seems to keep them together. In May, Mr Chey appeared to refer to Ms Kim when he spoke about his decision to support social enterprises at an event that she also attended.

SK Group has given out around 14.8 billion won to 130 social enterprises over the past three years.

Recalling how he took over as SK chairman during the financial crisis of the late 1990s, Mr Chey said it was tough to survive and he turned into a "ruthless businessman" whose sole aim was to make more money.

"I saw everything as work, but I didn't see the people. My heart became hollow," he was cited as saying by JoongAng Ilbo newspaper.

"Then I met someone who was the exact opposite of me. That person had no interest in money and focused only on the people. Upon closer scrutiny, I realised I have lived my life the wrong way."

Will their story get a happy ending, or will it be scarred by impending divorce proceedings that could turn ugly? Your guess is as good as any K-drama fan's.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on December 08, 2019, with the headline 'Divorce of the century' reads like a K-drama script. Subscribe