Chey Tae-won, the billionaire chairman of South Korean multinational corporation SK Group, has been ordered to pay his ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong 944 billion won ($644 million) in what is expected to be the final divorce settlement.

According to reports, the Seoul High Court handed down the judgment during a ruling on Friday in a retrial following a Supreme Court verdict that vacated an initial order in 2024 directing Mr Chey to pay 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion) in assets to Ms Roh as settlement.

During the trial, the lower court had considered 30 billion won ($22 million) won by Mr Chey from his slush fund in 1991 as part of the businessman’s assets.

However, the apex court determined that the money was illegally obtained and cannot be considered part of the pair’s wealth during their marriage.

The latest award still needs to be finalised, a step expected to bring an end to the long-running legal battle between Mr Chey, whose net worth surged to more than $5 billion amid the artificial intelligence boom, and Ms Roh, the daughter of former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo.

The 35-year marriage between the former couple ended more than a decade ago following the revelation that Mr Chey had fathered a child with another woman.

Reacting to the ruling, Mr Chey’s lawyers said, “Chairman Chey Tae-won is deeply sorry in that [the divorce] proceedings so far have caused concern to many people. We will share a specific response to the verdict after we closely review the ruling.”