"I'll Protect My Family," Kwon Hyukbin... Former Family Court Presiding Judge Joins His Appellate Legal Team

First-Instance Ruling Orders Transfer of 35% Stake and 65 Billion Won in Cash
Yulchon Attorneys Lee Jaegun and Kim Seongu Among Those Joining Legal Team

Smilegate founder and Chief Vision Officer (CVO) Kwon Hyukbin has additionally retained Yulchon LLC in his appeal in the divorce lawsuit with his wife, identified only as Ms. Lee.

Kwon Hyukbin, founder and Chief Vision Officer (CVO) of game company Smilegate. The Asia Business Daily database.

According to legal sources on November 2, Yulchon recently filed a notice of representation on behalf of Kwon with the Seoul High Court's Family Division 1, presided over by Judge Lee Sangju, which is hearing the appeal in the divorce and related case filed by Ms. Lee against CVO Kwon.

In September 2026, the Seoul Family Court's Family Division 3, presided over by Judge Jeong Donghyeok, ruled that the marital relationship between CVO Kwon and Ms. Lee had irretrievably broken down, that both were responsible, and that their levels of responsibility were equal. The court said it had "reviewed the circumstances behind the long-term conflict, how it escalated, and the possibility of restoring the relationship" and granted the divorce petition, while dismissing Ms. Lee's claim for alimony.

The court granted Ms. Lee's divorce petition and ordered that, as part of the division of marital assets, 35% of the Smilegate shares owned by CVO Kwon be transferred in kind, with the remaining 65 billion won paid in cash. Most of CVO Kwon's assets consist of Smilegate shares, which are valued at approximately 7.1049 trillion won. Accordingly, the total amount of assets CVO Kwon must transfer to Ms. Lee is 2.55 trillion won.

Both CVO Kwon and Ms. Lee appealed the first-trial ruling, and the case was received by the Seoul High Court, which will hear the appeal, on October 21, 2026. At the appellate trial, CVO Kwon bolstered his legal team by newly retaining Yulchon in addition to Yoon & Yang LLC, which represented him at the first trial. His legal team includes Yulchon attorneys Lee Jaegun, a former Supreme Court judicial researcher, and Kim Seongu, a former presiding judge at the Seoul Family Court. Also on the team are attorneys Lee Myeongcheol and Lee Seungho, both former Supreme Court judicial researchers, and Lee Yugyeong, who has mainly handled family-law cases.

At Yoon & Yang, managing partner Lee Mingeol, a former head of the Planning and Coordination Office at the National Court Administration, and managing partner Lee Donggeun, who previously served as a presiding judge at a high court and held posts including spokesperson, director general of planning, and judicial policy director at the National Court Administration, have newly joined the appellate team.

After the first-trial ruling, CVO Kwon's side said, "As a family man who wishes to preserve his family, I will continue to make efforts to restore the marital relationship," adding, "Although the first-trial ruling dismissed the claim for alimony, it disregarded CVO Kwon's efforts to preserve the marital relationship." He is therefore expected to first challenge the ruling on the divorce petition itself.

Ms. Lee's legal representation remains with Gaon Law Firm, which represented her in the first trial.

CVO Kwon met Ms. Lee while they were university students, married her in 2001, and founded Smilegate. Ms. Lee was registered as Smilegate's representative director from July 4 to November 14, 2002. She held a stake worth $30 in Smilegate's initial capital of 50 million won when the company was founded, and that stake was reportedly sold around 2010. Smilegate grew into a company generating trillions of won in revenue after its game Crossfire became a hit in China.

Ms. Lee filed for divorce from CVO Kwon in November 2022. At a preparatory hearing in the first trial, she reportedly sought half of the marital assets, arguing that she had been married for 20 years, raised their children, and contributed to the accumulation of their assets. CVO Kwon's side, meanwhile, reportedly argued in the first trial that the divorce itself should not be granted, and that Ms. Lee was neither a co-founder nor involved in the company's management.

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