Chey Tae-won's Side Appeals Non-Indictment of Noh So-young's Representative Over '1 Billion Dollar Spending' Remark

Insufficient Evidence of Prosecution's Awareness of Falsehood
Decision to Seek Review by Higher Prosecutor's Office

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group has filed an appeal against the prosecution's decision not to indict the legal representative of Noh So-young, Director of Art Center Nabi, who claimed that Mr. Chey had spent over 100 billion won on his domestic partner.

On September 15, Chairman Chey's legal representatives issued a statement announcing that they had appealed the prosecution's decision not to indict Attorney A, a lawyer representing Director Noh, for defamation due to spreading false information. An appeal is a process in which a party requests a higher prosecutor’s office to re-examine a decision when they disagree with a non-indictment by the prosecution. Chey's side stated, "The prosecution's decision not to indict was based on a lack of evidence to prove awareness that the information was false and does not confirm that the amount disseminated is factual," adding, "We have decided to seek another review in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law."

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (left) and Noh Soyoung, Director of Art Center Nabi. Yonhap News Agency

Chey's side explained that the reason for the appeal is that, of the figure in the hundreds of billions of won presented by Attorney A, there is a large amount of spending that is unrelated to Kim Hee-young, Director of the T&C Foundation. Chey's representatives added, "The amount Chey spent on living expenses together with Director Kim was explained to the court in charge of property division, supported by a review of financial transaction records, and was about 2 billion won as of that time," and "The amount claimed by Attorney A is over 50 times greater than the actual figure."

They also argued that expenses totaling 20.4 billion won from a KB Kookmin Bank account opened while Chey was incarcerated were attributed to Director Kim, even though the account was actually opened for Director Noh. Chey's representatives stated, "A significant portion of these expenditures was withdrawn by Director Noh." They also claimed that donations and contributions paid to organizations such as the ChildFund Korea, Community Chest of Korea, and the T&C Foundation were included in the calculation of the 100 billion won amount. Furthermore, it was asserted that assets subject to division, such as residences and artworks owned by Chey, were also counted as property gifted to Director Kim.

Chey's representatives stated, "Director Noh's side argued in court that these same assets should be divided as joint property between the couple, while publicly claiming to the media that they had been gifted to Director Kim," emphasizing that "these two claims are irreconcilable." They pointed out that although Attorney A, as legal counsel in the property division case, had access to relevant financial data and facts, he continued to assert incorrect figures in media interviews.

Previously, on September 10, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Attorney A, who had been accused of defamation by spreading false information, due to lack of evidence. The prosecution concluded that Attorney A’s statements were based on a certain degree of supporting evidence and therefore could not be deemed the spreading of false information, and that Chey's side had not provided sufficient grounds to overturn this assessment.

In November 2023, Attorney A stated to reporters during the proceedings for a damages suit filed by Director Noh against Director Kim, Chey’s domestic partner, that "Chairman Chey has spent over 100 billion won on Director Kim since at least 2015," which led to Chey filing a criminal complaint. At the time, the police concluded that the charge was valid and forwarded the case to the prosecution. However, the prosecutor’s office requested supplementary investigation, judging that further inquiry into the basis of these statements was necessary. After this supplementary investigation, the police resubmitted the case, but prosecutors recently concluded that there was no basis for the charges.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.