The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling that ordered SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won to pay 1.38 trillion won ($973.3 million) to his estranged wife, Roh Soh-yeong, in their high-profile divorce lawsuit. The case has been remanded back to the appellate court for reconsideration.

Thursday's ruling lifts, at least temporarily, the immediate financial pressure on Chey and eases investor concerns about a potential shake-up in the ownership structure of SK Group, the nation's second-largest conglomerate.

The top court said the Seoul High Court's 2024 ruling misapplied the law by including a 30 billion won fund in the calculation of the couple's marital asset division. The fund was allegedly provided by Roh's father, former President Roh Tae-woo, and given to Chey's father, the late SK Group founder Chey Jong-hyon.

According to the court, even if Roh Tae-woo provided the 30 billion won to Chey Jong-hyon, "the source of money appears to be a bribe" received during Roh's term.

"Roh Tae-woo's act of providing a large sum of money to his in-laws or his children and spouses as part of a bribe, and keeping it silent, making it impossible for the state to trace and collect the funds, is against good customs and social order, and is clearly anti-social, unethical and immoral, and falls outside of the scope of legal protection," the court said in its ruling.

However, the Supreme Court upheld the 2 billion won one-off alimony payment granted to Roh, dismissing Chey's appeal on that portion.

In July last year, Chey appealed the ruling by the Seoul High Court that ordered him to pay 1.38 trillion won in property division and 2 billion won in alimony payment.

The sum, the largest figure in South Korean history, represented a substantial rise from a previous lower court's decision of 66.5 billion won, reflecting the contributions that both Roh Soh-yeong and her father made toward SK Group's growth and Chey's business activity.

The case will return to the high court for fresh proceedings, prolonging an eight-year legal battle that started when Chey filed for divorce settlement in 2017, two years after he publicly admitted to having an extramarital relationship and fathering a child.

Top court partially overturns W1.38t divorce ruling for SK chief Chey