Court Orders Choi Tae-won to Pay 944 Billion Won to Noh So-young

A South Korean court has ruled that Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, must pay 944 billion won to Noh So-young, director of the Art Center Nabi. This ruling has raised expectations regarding the potential success fees for Noh's legal team.

The Seoul High Court's Family Division, presided over by Judge Lee Seung-joo, announced on July 24 that Choi is obligated to pay Noh the specified amount as part of their property division case.

Legal experts are closely watching the success fees for Noh's legal team, as they could range from 1% to 7% of the total amount due to the high value of the lawsuit.

If the ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, Noh's lawyers could receive between 1% (approximately 9.4 billion won) and 7% (around 66 billion won) as their success fee, although the exact amount will depend on the specific terms of their agreement. Currently, Noh's legal team is composed of the law firms Haegwang, Hannuri, and Onsesang.

This ruling comes nearly nine years after Choi and Noh's marriage, which began in September 1998, ended in separation. In 2015, Choi publicly acknowledged the existence of an extramarital child.

Noh filed for divorce mediation in July 2017, but the process failed, leading to formal litigation in February 2018. Noh subsequently filed a counterclaim in 2019, indicating her willingness to proceed with the divorce.

In a previous ruling, the first court ordered Choi to pay Noh 100 million won in alimony and 665 million won in property division. The second court, however, recognized Noh's contributions to the growth of SK Group, which included a 30 billion won slush fund linked to former President Roh Tae-woo, and awarded her 200 million won in alimony and 1.38 trillion won in property division.

However, in October of last year, the Supreme Court upheld the 200 million won alimony but ruled that the 30 billion won slush fund could not be considered illegal funds attributable to Noh's contributions, sending the case back to the Seoul High Court.

The appellate court held its first hearing on January 9 and, after three months, attempted mediation. However, disagreements over key issues, including the division of SK shares, led to the failure of mediation, prompting the court to conclude the hearing and issue its ruling.

If either party contests the ruling, they may appeal to the Supreme Court, indicating that further legal proceedings could follow.