{"slug": "ai-billionaire-who-left-wife-for-younger-lover-ordered-to-pay-645m-in-south-of", "title": "AI billionaire who left wife for younger lover ordered to pay $645M in South Korea’s ‘divorce of the century’", "summary": "A South Korean appeals court ordered SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong approximately $645 million in cash on Friday, ending the decade-long 'divorce of the century' legal saga. The ruling awarded Roh about one-third of Chey's wealth, which was valued before shares of SK Hynix, a key Nvidia supplier, surged during the AI boom. Chey's lawyers said they are reviewing the ruling and may appeal to the Supreme Court.", "body_md": "# AI billionaire who left wife for younger lover ordered to pay $645M in South Korea’s ‘divorce of the century’\n\nSee more of our coverage in your search results.\n\n[Add The New York Post on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nypost.com)\n\nA South Korean AI billionaire who blew up his marriage by fathering a child with another woman won’t have to fork over the nearly $1 billion his ex-wife had sought — after a court[ instead ordered him to pay roughly $645 million in cash on Friday.](https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/ex-wife-in-south-koreas-divorce-of-the-century-awarded-645-million-e241741c?mod=hp_lead_pos8)\n\nThe ruling brings a possible[ end to South Korea’s so-called “divorce of the century,”](https://nypost.com/2026/07/23/business/south-korean-ai-billionaire-faces-1-billion-divorce-payout-after-marriage-of-the-century-crumbles-amid-affair-with-younger-woman/) capping a decade-long legal saga that mixed a billionaire’s affair, a former president’s family, alleged slush-fund money and one of Asia’s hottest artificial-intelligence fortunes.\n\nChey Tae-won, the 65-year-old chairman of South Korea’s SK Group, built much of his fortune through the AI boom as shares of memory-chip giant SK Hynix — a key supplier to Nvidia — soared in recent years.\n\nHis wealth, estimated at roughly $5 billion before Friday’s ruling, had become the centerpiece of the courtroom fight after his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, demanded half his fortune.\n\nInstead, the appeals court awarded Roh about one-third of the wealth calculated by the judges, valuing Chey’s holdings before SK’s shares exploded during the AI frenzy.\n\nChey’s lawyers said they were reviewing the ruling and did not rule out another appeal to South Korea’s Supreme Court.\n\nThe bitter divorce battle traces back to a stunning public confession in 2015.\n\nIn a three-page letter published by a South Korean newspaper, Chey announced that he wanted what he called a “clean end” to his 27-year marriage, revealing he had fallen in love with another woman and fathered a child with her.\n\nThe revelation shattered a marriage that had once been celebrated as South Korea’s “marriage of the century.”\n\nChey and Roh, the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, married at the presidential Blue House in 1988 just months after her father took office. The union linked one of the country’s most powerful business dynasties with its first family in a lavish ceremony that captivated the nation.\n\nRoh initially vowed to keep the family together and resist a divorce before eventually changing course and demanding half of Chey’s fortune.\n\nThe other woman, Kim Hee-young, who uses the English name Chloe, is now Chey’s longtime partner. Roh later sued Kim over the affair, and a court ordered Chey and Kim to jointly pay her roughly $1.5 million in damages after finding the affair and the child born outside the marriage contributed to the breakdown of the marriage.\n\nThe divorce fight later widened into a battle over the origins of the SK empire itself.\n\nRoh’s lawyers submitted a handwritten note apparently saved by her mother that listed “Sunkyong” — SK’s former name — alongside “30 billion won.”\n\nThey argued it supported claims that Roh’s father secretly funneled money to Chey’s father that helped expand the family business. Chey’s lawyers denied SK ever received the alleged funds.\n\nThe dispute grew even more expensive as SK Hynix emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom. The company’s memory chips have become critical components in Nvidia’s AI systems, sending the stock soaring and more than doubling Chey’s net worth.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-billionaire-who-left-wife-for-younger-lover-ordered-to-pay-645m-in-south-of", "canonical_source": "https://nypost.com/2026/07/24/business/ai-billionaire-who-left-wife-for-younger-lover-ordered-to-pay-645m-in-south-koreas-divorce-of-the-century/", "published_at": "2026-07-24 14:25:41+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-24 14:30:53.109223+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-chips"], "entities": ["Chey Tae-won", "SK Group", "Roh Soh-yeong", "SK Hynix", "Nvidia", "Roh Tae-woo", "Kim Hee-young"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-billionaire-who-left-wife-for-younger-lover-ordered-to-pay-645m-in-south-of", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-billionaire-who-left-wife-for-younger-lover-ordered-to-pay-645m-in-south-of.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-billionaire-who-left-wife-for-younger-lover-ordered-to-pay-645m-in-south-of.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-billionaire-who-left-wife-for-younger-lover-ordered-to-pay-645m-in-south-of.jsonld"}}