Seoul: A court on Wednesday ordered Kwon Hyuk-bin, the founder of game company Smilegate, to pay his wife 2.55 trillion won (US$1.91 billion) in what could be a record-high property division in a domestic divorce lawsuit.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Family Court issued the ruling in the divorce suit filed by Kwon's wife, identified only by her surname Lee, in November 2022. The court ordered the payout, including a 35 percent stake in Smilegate, to Lee as part of the division of marital assets. The firm is 100 percent owned by Kwon.
"The defendant must pay the plaintiff 35 percent of his Smilegate shares in kind and 65 billion won in cash as a division of property. The defendant must provide the plaintiff with a total of approximately 2.55 trillion won," the court said. The amount could set a new record for the largest property division settlement in a domestic divorce case. The court concluded that their marriage had irretrievably broken down due to their longstanding conflict and other circumstances. It said it granted the divorce because both parties bore equal responsibility for the breakdown of their marriage but rejected the plaintiff's claim for alimony.
The court valued Kwon's holdings in Smilegate at approximately 7.1 trillion won. If the ruling becomes final, Kwon would be required to transfer approximately 2.4 trillion won worth of Smilegate shares to Lee as part of the property division.
Born in 1974, Kwon graduated from Sogang University's Department of Electronic Engineering in 1999 and married Lee in 2001. He founded Smilegate the following year. He became the chairman of the Smilegate Hope Studio, a public interest foundation, in 2012 and the chief visionary officer of Smilegate Holdings in 2020.
The couple began living separately in 2020, and Lee filed for divorce two years later, claiming that Kwon had neglected his family responsibilities.
Lee sought half of Kwon's Smilegate shares, claiming she had held a 30 percent stake in the company in its early years.
But Kwon has maintained that he bears no fault for the breakdown of their marriage and does not wish to divorce. He also argued that Lee cannot be considered a co-founder, as she neither invested capital in nor worked for the company.