hankyoreh

By Lee Soon-hyuk, staff reporter

Chey Tae-won recently decided to divorce his wife Roh Soh-yeong, it was revealed on June 17. Sources close to Chey said the SK Group chairman, 52, has been separated from Roh since last September. Roh, 51, is the daughter of former President Roh Tae-woo.

Chey and Roh met while studying at the University of Chicago and married in 1988, while her father was serving as President. The union between a First Daughter and conglomerate scion became the subject of major attention.

Rumors of a stormy married life surfaced over the years. Roh is currently director of Art Center Nabi, a museum specializing in media art.

A source close to Chey explained, “He recently told me in private that his relationship with his wife was beyond hope and that it was very painful for him. He made up his mind to get his relationships in order, if only so he could focus on running the group. The fact that he has been more active than ever before with SK Hynix and on-site overseas management lately is not unrelated to his personal situation.”

Chey, who is currently overseas on business, was said to be planning to officially notify Roh of his intent to divorce and hire an attorney to initiate the procedures upon his return.

Figures close to him said the relationship began deteriorating rapidly in Sept. 2011, when prosecutors’ investigation of embezzlement within the group intensified.

Close acquaintances of Chey explained that at a time when he was on edge because of the investigation, he had learned that Roh was not only unsupportive but saying negative things about him, which came as a major shock at the time of his trial and left him feeling angry and betrayed.

“For seven or eight years, their marriage had been strained because their personalities are so different,” explained an acquaintance of Chey’s. “At one point, Roh demanded a divorce, which hurt him deeply. He put up with it because of what it would mean for the group’s management and its social repercussions. It’s basically the tragic ending of a strategic marriage where neither side trusts the other.”

The SK Group noted that various rumors about the relationship from years back had proven unsubstantiated, but added that they could not confirm anything because Chey is currently in Brazil.

“We are not going to issue any official rebuttal,” the group said. This contrasts noticeably with the typical response of a group to press coverage of a sensitive matter involving its head, which is to issue a strenuous denial.

Meanwhile, an employee at Art Center Nabi said on June 18 that they had given a report to Roh but received no response. The employee advised contacting the SK’s brand management office for questions. At the moment, neither side is giving a clear confirmation or denial.

A former senior SK Group executive said, “Things are very bad between them, and I’ve heard that Roh Soh-yeong’s heart is no longer in it, that she’s only been putting off the divorce because of her father’s ill health.”

A current executive said, “Everyone knows how bad things are between the two of them.”

Some observers suggested the situation may have something to do with a divorce case involving Roh’s younger brother Jae-heon. Roh Tae-woo recently submitted a complaint to prosecutors accusing Jae-heon’s father-in-law, former ShinDongBang Group chairman Shin Myong-soo, of freely using money from a slush fund. Jae-heon has been in a divorce battle with Shin’s daughter Jeong-hwa since last year. With the matters of divorce and a slush fund mixed up in their case, observers are saying a similar issue may be at play in the discord between Chey and Roh Soh-yeong.

Chey was previously investigated by prosecutors in 1994 over slush fund allegations involving Roh Tae-woo. In February 1990, shortly after their marriage, the couple deposited a total of US$200,000 in various US banks. At the time, it was alleged that this had been withdrawn from Roh’s secret Swiss bank accounts. Charges were dropped after Chey explained that they had merely deposited money received as wedding gifts, but the following year a prosecutors’ investigation of Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo found it had come from Roh’s slush fund.

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