Divorce court forces SK chairman to sell $700 million of stock at the memory boom's richest prices
A court has ordered Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife 944 billion won, and SK Inc. shareholders will absorb the 2.26% block that funds it. The family atop the world's No. 2 memory maker is turning equity into cash three months after SK hynix's record Nasdaq listing.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
The bell, then the bill
SK Inc. said in a filing on Friday, 2 October, that chairman Chey Tae-won will sell 944 billion won, about $700 million, of its stock 1. Twelve weeks earlier he had stood at the opening bell for SK hynix's Nasdaq debut 2. The size of the sale is not a market view; it is a court order, matched to the won 3.
A 2.26% block with a 2 November date
The sale covers 1,653,924 shares in after-hours block trades scheduled for 2 November, and SK's own words are the receipt: the stock "is intended to meet the major shareholder's need for personal funds related to a property division lawsuit" 3. Chey's stake falls from 17.76% to 15.49%, still the largest holding 134. The block splits 544 billion won to an unnamed strategic investor and 400 billion won into price-return swaps with brokerages, taking the family's combined stake from 25.2% to 22.9% 5.
A cash bill against a paper fortune
The Seoul High Court ruled in late July that Chey pay Roh Soh-yeong in cash while keeping his shares, a structure built to leave control alone 2. A bill that size, held against a fortune made of stock, gets paid by selling stock. That award had already cut the 1.38 trillion won ordered in 2024, and in September Chey accepted 700 billion won of it while contesting the remaining 244 billion won at the Supreme Court 26. He is selling the full 944 billion regardless 3.
The court bill fell to 700 billion won; the stock sale is sized to 944
Data
| Award | |
|---|---|
| 2024 appeals award | 1,380B won |
| July 2026 High Court | 944B won |
| Sept 2026 accepted | 700B won |
The richest window in years to sell
SK Inc. closed Friday at 584,000 won a share, up 127.7% this year 4. SK hynix earned 60.5 trillion won of operating income in the second quarter alone at a 76% margin, exceeding all of 2025, after a 2023 that lost money 7. Since its $26.5 billion Nasdaq offering, the largest ADS deal on record, its New York line has traded between 15.3% and 60.1% above Seoul and closed September at a 40.7% premium 8. The KOSPI still sits 26% below its June record despite a 67% run this year 9. No document says the chairman thinks memory has peaked; the document says the court set the amount.
From a money-losing 2023 to a 76% margin: the arc Chey is selling into
Data
| Operating margin | |
|---|---|
| FY2023 | -23.59% |
| FY2025 | 48.59% |
| Q2 2026 | 76% |
Five-year contracts are the other side
The bulls have exhibits: a strategic investor buying on long-term growth prospects, and supply agreements of roughly five years with about ten customers, deposits included 57. Yet consensus already puts revenue at a 2028 peak of $439 billion, easing to $367 billion by 2030, inside the contract window 7. Locks soften a cycle. They do not remove a forced seller.
November, then the Supreme Court
Watch the 2 November settlement, the top court's ruling on the contested 244 billion won, and SK hynix's third quarter, where DRAM shipments are guided up about 10% 367. The family that knows this cycle best just chose cash.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
