Kwon Hyuk-bin: South Korean Court Orders Smilegate Founder to Pay $1.87bn in Divorce Settlement

• A South Korean court ordered gaming tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin to transfer a 35% stake in Smilegate to his ex-wife Lee Hwa-jin
• The settlement of 2.55 trillion won more than doubles the previous record divorce award in South Korean history
• Lee Hwa-jin had originally sought a 50% stake in Smilegate, arguing she helped finance the company at its founding

A South Korean court has handed down the largest divorce settlement in the country's history, ordering Kwon Hyuk-bin, the founder of video game giant Smilegate, to transfer assets worth 2.55 trillion won (approximately $1.87 billion) to his former wife Lee Hwa-jin.

The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, requires Kwon to relinquish a 35% stake in Smilegate, valued at roughly 2.5 trillion won, along with a separate cash payment of 65 billion won.

Smilegate, which Kwon had previously owned in its entirety, is South Korea's third-largest video game company and is best known for the first-person shooter CrossFire and the action role-playing title Lost Ark. Bloomberg places Kwon's net worth at $3 billion.

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Kwon Hyuk-bin: A record-breaking divorce settlement

The award surpasses the previous record by a considerable margin. In July, Chey Tae-won, chairman of the SK Group conglomerate, was ordered to pay his ex-wife 944 billion won in what was then considered the largest divorce settlement in Korean legal history.

That case has since been referred back for review after the Supreme Court identified a miscalculation in the valuation of the couple's assets.

Kwon and Lee married in 2001, a year before he established Smilegate. In seeking a divorce, Lee had initially requested a 50% ownership stake in the company.

Her legal team argued that she had contributed to financing Smilegate at the point of its founding, a claim Kwon disputed, maintaining that Lee had neither invested in nor worked for the company.

Earlier this year, Smilegate released a statement asserting that all of the company's initial capital had come solely from Kwon.

Lee's contribution debated in court

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Lee also submitted to the court that she had devoted over two decades to raising their children and managing the household, framing these contributions as central to her claim for a significant share of the marital assets.

A Smilegate spokesperson chose not to address the substance of the case directly, saying:

"We will continue to faithfully perform our duties as usual." The spokesperson declined to comment on what was described as the major shareholder's personal matters.

Both parties retain the right to appeal the ruling, meaning the outcome of the case may yet change before any assets are formally transferred.

Source: YEN.com.gh