Court orders art gallery run by SK chairman’s wife to vacate conglomerate’s building

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, left, and his estranged wife Roh Soh-yeong attend the Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on April 16. [NEWS1]

 
A court has ordered the estranged wife of SK Chairman Chey Tae-won to vacate her art gallery from an SK building amid the couple’s ongoing divorce settlement that has been sent to the top court on the chairman’s appeal.
 
The Seoul Central District Court on Friday ruled that Art Center Nabi, headed by Roh Soh-yeong, must vacate the SK Seorin Building owned by SK Innovation in central Seoul. Roh is also required to pay 1 billion won ($720,622) in damages for the delay in moving out.
 
“The defendant is using the premises as an art museum as stated in the lease agreement with the plaintiff,” the court stated. “Since the plaintiff legally terminated the lease according to the agreed date, the defendant is obligated to deliver the premises.”
 
The court also acknowledged part of the damages claimed by SK Innovation and ordered Art Center Nabi to pay 1 billion won.
 
“This means Art Center Nabi is obligated to pay part of the damages incurred after the termination stipulated in the sublease contract,” the court said. “We do not accept Nabi’s claims that the termination of the sublease was unilateral or constituted an abuse of rights or breach of trust.”
 
The verdict is the latest development in Korea’s most expensive divorce settlement.
 
Art Center Nabi, a digital art gallery, is currently located on the fourth floor of the SK Seorin Building, which serves as the de facto headquarters for many SK affiliates.
 
The gallery has occupied the space since December 2000.
 
SK Innovation filed a property handover suit against the gallery in April 2023. The case was referred for mediation, with two sessions held in November, but both sides failed to settle.
 
SK Innovation claimed that it has been repeatedly demanding the eviction since the lease between SK and Art Center Nabi expired in September 2019. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the gallery has continued to occupy the space for over four years.
 
Roh’s side has been opposing the eviction, claiming that SK Innovation’s motive behind the suit was influenced by the divorce suit.
 
“The gallery, as a cultural facility for storing artwork, should be protected, and Roh, as the director, has a duty to consider the interests of the employees,” her side argued.
 
Roh is considering appealing, according to Roh’s attorney Lee Sang-won from the Pyeongan law firm.
 
“This art gallery was relocated at Chey’s request 25 years ago — this is going too far,” Lee said after the court ruling. “We are considering an appeal, since there is no place to move to during this heat, and we need to take into consideration various concerns.”
 
Meanwhile, Chey has appealed the high court’s recent ruling ordering him to pay 1.38 trillion won in a settlement to Roh.
 
The case has now been handed to the Supreme Court, which will make the final decision.
 
Chey has argued that there is a “critical error” in the calculation of the settlement, which could jeopardize his control over Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate in the process of gathering the required funds.
 
Seoul’s high court partially corrected the ruling by adjusting the ratio of his influence on the conglomerate’s growth, but maintained the settlement amount at 1.38 trillion won as previously ruled.
 

BY LEE JAE-LIM, SARAH CHEA, YOON JI-WON [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]