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A South Korean court has ordered prominent video game entrepreneur Kwon Hyuk-bin to transfer assets valued at 2.55 trillion won, equivalent to approximately $1.87 billion or £1.38 billion, to his former wife. The judicial decision establishes an unprecedented financial benchmark, standing as the most substantial divorce settlement ever handed down in South Korea's legal history.
Under the terms specified by the court on Wednesday, the financial restitution consists of both equity and direct monetary compensation. Kwon must reassign a 35 percent ownership stake in his gaming firm, Smilegate, which is estimated to be worth roughly 2.5 trillion won, to his ex-wife, Lee Hwa-jin. In addition to the extensive equity transfer, the ruling mandates that he deliver an extra 65 billion won in cash directly to Lee.
The ruling significantly alters the wealth profile of Kwon, who is widely recognized as one of South Korea's most affluent business figures. According to financial data and estimates compiled by Bloomberg, the gaming mogul maintains an overall personal net worth of approximately $3 billion.
The decision also marks a dramatic structural shift for Smilegate, which stands as South Korea's third-largest video game publisher. Prior to the court's decree on Wednesday, the enterprise was wholly owned by Kwon, who had maintained complete singular control over the company's equity since its inception.
The sheer scale of the award surpasses all previous domestic records by a wide margin. The court-ordered payout of 2.55 trillion won is more than double the prior record-setting divorce division in the country, demonstrating the massive valuation tied to modern South Korean technology and entertainment assets.
That previous historical high occurred earlier this year in July, when tech magnate Chey Tae-won, the chairman of the prominent conglomerate SK Group, was instructed by a court to pay 944 billion won to his former spouse. At the time of that verdict, the award was celebrated as the largest matrimonial property split in South Korean history.
However, the legal resolution in Chey's dispute encountered complications shortly after its conclusion. South Korea's Supreme Court subsequently overturned the 944 billion won ruling after identifying a calculation error that had improperly inflated the valuation of the couple's shared estate, sending the matter back for formal judicial review.
The background of the relationship between Kwon and Lee stretches back more than two decades, predating the rise of Kwon's commercial empire. The pair married in 2001, just one year before Kwon formally founded Smilegate and began developing digital entertainment software.
Over the ensuing years, Smilegate expanded into an international entertainment powerhouse. The corporation built its reputation and massive market valuation on the global success of flagship titles, most notably the high-profile first-person shooter CrossFire and the widely played action role-playing title Lost Ark.
When initiating the divorce proceedings against Kwon, Lee had originally petitioned the judiciary for a full 50 percent share of Smilegate. Legal representatives acting on her behalf stated that she played an essential role during the firm's formative period, arguing in court filings that she helped provide necessary financing during the company's initial founding stage.
Beyond financial arguments regarding the company's establishment, Lee asserted her substantial domestic contributions over the course of their marriage. She presented evidence to the court detailing how she spent more than twenty years raising the couple's children and managing household responsibilities while the business grew.
Conversely, Kwon firmly pushed back against Lee's claims of early corporate involvement and financial assistance. The billionaire maintained throughout the legal battle that his former spouse had neither provided investment funds nor performed any operational work for the gaming enterprise at any stage in its development.
This defense was publicly mirrored by the corporation itself earlier in the year. In a prior corporate statement, Smilegate insisted that the entirety of the firm's original seed and startup capital had originated exclusively from Kwon rather than external domestic contributions.
Following the announcement of the record-breaking ruling, Smilegate sought to distance its corporate operations from the private litigation of its founder. A company representative declined to provide detailed remarks regarding the primary shareholder's personal legal affairs.
In a formal statement cited by The Chosun Daily, the spokesperson emphasized stability, reassuring stakeholders that the company would continue to faithfully execute its organizational duties and maintain regular day-to-day operations despite the massive shift in equity ownership.
Legal analysts note that the landmark judgment may not mark the final chapter in the high-stakes dispute. Under South Korean legal procedure, both Kwon and Lee maintain the legal right to challenge the court's verdict and pursue further appeals before higher judicial authorities.
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