SK chairman to contest court’s recognition of slush fund in divorce case

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is expected to contest a court's recognition of former President Roh Tae-woo's slush fund as seed money for the conglomerate in his divorce suit against Roh's daughter, sources said Tuesday. In May, the Seoul High Court ordered Chey to pay 1.38 trillion won (US$1 billion) in property division to Roh Soh-yeong in the country's most expensive divorce suit in history. The court recognized that a purported slush fund of 30 billion won from the former president was funneled to Chey Jong-hyon, former chairman of Sunkyung -- the predecessor of SK -- and the current chairman's father, and used as seed money, the main point behind the decision to award Soh-yeong the massive property division. Chey has since appealed the ruling. Sources said Chey's side submitted a 500-page appellate brief to the Supreme Court the previous day, outlining the arguments for his appeal. In the document, Chey reportedly contested the high court's ruling that recognized the slush fund based on a 1991 pro missory note and memo that had been kept by the former president's wife. Chey also cited a "critical error" in the court's per-share valuation of Daehan Telecom, currently SK Telecom. The appellate court had initially set the 1998 per-share price of Daehan Telecom at 100 won, attributing a 355-fold increase in market value over the following decades to the couple's marriage, but later corrected the price to 1,000 won. Chey's side also disputed the high court's conclusion that his connection to the former president was a significant factor in SK's growth. These arguments are expected to be hotly contested between Chey and Roh during the Supreme Court's upcoming divorce proceedings. Source: Yonhap News Agency