A Family Court court in Seoul, South Korea, has sentenced tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin, founder of the video game giant Smilegate, to transfer 35% of the company’s shares to his wife as part of the division of assets for the divorce.
Record divorce
A record check which, according to estimates, is around 2,500 billion won, equal to approximately 1.87 billion dollars (just over 1.6 billion euros). The figure represents the highest amount ever established in South Korea for the division of assets in a divorce case. The payment is in fact more than double the previous record of 944 billion won that the president of SK Group, Chey Tae-won, was initially sentenced to pay to his ex-wife.
Kwon is one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen: according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his personal net worth hovers around $3 billion. Smilegate remained entirely its sole property until the court ruling, which required the transfer of the 35% stake to Lee Hwa-jin, as well as the payment of an additional 65 billion won in cash to offset the overall balance.
The wife’s requests
In his divorce petition, Lee had originally requested 50% of Smilegate. Her lawyers argued that she had actively contributed to the financing and management of the company since its founding in 2002, a year after their marriage. Among the most successful global titles developed by the company are the shooter CrossFire and the role-playing game Lost Ark. In support of his request, Lee also highlighted that he has dedicated over twenty years to taking care of the home and raising children. For his part, Kwon has always rejected these claims, stating that his ex-wife had never invested capital or worked for the company. At the beginning of the year, Smilegate itself had released an official note to reiterate that the entire initial capital came exclusively from the founder.
Following the judiciary’s decision, a Smilegate spokesperson preferred not to make statements regarding the strictly personal affairs of the majority shareholder. The company limited itself to confirming, through a note taken from Chosun Daily, its intention to pursue its corporate objectives with the usual dedication. Since it is a first instance ruling, both parties still have the right to appeal.
The previous one
The story inevitably recalls the sensational precedent of last July involving Chey Tae-won, number one of SK Group. In that case, the record 944 billion won fine was subsequently frozen by the Supreme Court due to a clerical calculation error in the valuation of the company’s assets, which forced the judges to order a full review of the proceedings.