South Korea divorce ruling lets SK Group chief keep shares in parent

By Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) – A South Korean court ordered the chairman of No. 2 conglomerate SK Group to transfer cash of 66.5 billion won ($50.68 million) in a division of property, as part of a divorce ruling on Tuesday that kept any stock from changing hands.

While not yet final, the decision preserves the ownership structure of a conglomerate with assets of 292 trillion won ($226 billion) that controls the world’s No. 2 maker of memory chips, SK Hynix.

In a statement, the court said the transfer by Chairman Chey Tae-won would not include stock in the group’s holding company, SK Inc.

Chey holds a stake of 17.5% in the equity of SK Inc, regulatory filings show, with a value of about 2.7 trillion won at Monday’s closing price.

His estranged wife, Roh Soh-yeong, would also receive alimony of 100 million won, said Kim Hyeon-jung, a judge of the Seoul Family Court.

But the court denied Roh’s request for about half of Chey’s SK Inc holdings, saying in the statement that her contribution to the holding was unclear. The 66.5 billion won Chey is required to pay is a cash payout, it added.

The legal representatives of both parties had no immediate comment. The law provides for an appeal against the ruling.

($1=1,312.1400 won)

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Writing by Joyce Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)