Recent foreign reports indicate that the appellate court ruling concerning SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s divorce settlement could lead to potential hostile takeovers or threats from hedge funds against SK Group.
Shuli Ren, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, highlighted in a column on June. 4 that “one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates could become a target for hostile takeovers.” She predicts that Chairman Chey’s control over the Group might weaken due to this ruling.
Ren pointed out that Chairman Chey and his relatives, including his sister Chey Ki-won, President of The Happiness Foundation, collectively own about 25% of SK Inc., the group’s holding company. If the chairman is required to transfer or sell some of his shares to settle the divorce lawsuit, the Chey family’s stake could fall below the critical 20% threshold, which is essential for maintaining domestic control.
On May. 30., the Seoul High Court’s Family Division 2 ruled on the divorce lawsuit between Chairman Chey and Art Center Nabi Director Roh So-young. The court ordered the chairman to pay his wife 1.38 trillion won (about $1.03 billion) in property division and 2 billion won (about $145,296) in alimony. Chey’s liquid assets are estimated to be between 200 billion won (about $145.66 million) and 300 billion won (about $218.49 million), with most of his assets tied up in shares of SK Inc., where he holds a 17.73% stake. There are concerns that if the appellate court’s ruling is finalized, the sale of his shares might be inevitable.
