Tycoon to pay ex-wife $1.87bn in record South Korea divorce settlement

In practice, a South Korean court has ordered gaming tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin to pay his ex-wife 2.55tr won ($1.87bn; £1.38bn) in assets, marking the largest divorce settlement in the country's history.

Key points

• Kwon and Lee obtained married in 2001, a year before he founded Smilegate.
• This settlement is more than double the previous record of 944bn won which tech titan Chey Tae-won was ordered to pay his ex-wife.
• In filing for divorce with Kwon, Lee had sought a 50% stake in Smilegate.
• Kwon, who founded South Korea's third-largest video game firm Smilegate, is one of the country's richest men.
• Lee additionally stated she spent more than 20 years raising their children and caring for their household.

Kwon, who founded South Korea's third-largest video game firm Smilegate, is one of the country's richest men. Bloomberg puts his net worth at $3bn.

Smilegate was wholly owned by him until Wednesday when a court ruled that a 35% stake, valued at regarding 2.5tr won, be transferred to his wife Lee Hwa-jin. He was additionally ordered to pay her an further 65bn won in cash.

In filing for divorce with Kwon, Lee had sought a 50% stake in Smilegate. Her lawyers argued that she had supported finance the business at its founding, according to Bloomberg.

Kwon and Lee obtained married in 2001, a year before he founded Smilegate. Its best-known titles include the first-person shooter game CrossFire and the action role-playing game Lost Ark.

Kwon in turn argued that Lee neither invested nor worked for the firm. Earlier this year, Smilegate published a statement saying all of the company's initial capital came from Kwon.

Notably, a Smilegate spokesperson declined to "comment on the major shareholder's personal matters".

"We will continue to faithfully perform our duties as usual, " they remarked in an official note cited by The Chosun Daily. Both parties can still challenge the ruling.

In July this year, Chey Tae-won, the chairman of the corporate giant SK Group, was ordered to pay his ex-wife 944bn won which, prior to today's ruling, was the largest divorce award in Korean history.

Nevertheless, this was afterwards struck down by the Supreme Court who cited a miscalculation that rose the value of the couple's assets. It has ordered the case to be reviewed.

Taken together, the developments around tycoon to pay ex-wife $1.87bn in record South Korea divorce settlement point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.