S. Korea's 'Divorce of the Century' Ends in $645M Payout

South Korea's splashiest split just came with a massive price tag. An appeals court on Friday ordered AI tech billionaire and SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong, about $645 million, a major turn in what local media have dubbed the country's "divorce of the century," per the Wall Street Journal. Some legal experts not involved in the case had speculated Chey's ex could receive up to $1 billion.

The ruling follows nearly a decade of courtroom battles that began after Chey, who married Roh in 1988, revealed in 2015 that he wanted a divorce and had had a child with another woman. Roh—an art museum director and daughter of South Korea's first post-military-rule president—had sought half of Chey's wealth, estimated at around $5 billion, much of it tied to booming chipmaker SK Hynix.

Judges instead valued Chey's fortune at an earlier point, before SK shares surged. Still, the New York Times has dubbed the payout one of "the largest divorce settlements in South Korean history." Chey, 65, had already been mandated to pay Roh, also 65, about $1.3 million in alimony, per the AP. The couple, whose divorce was finalized last year, share three adult children. Both sides can still appeal to the nation's Supreme Court.