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A South Korean court ordered the founder of Smilegate, a developer of video games including Crossfire, to pay 2.55 trillion won (HK$15 billion) in a divorce settlement on Wednesday, in what could be a record payout in the country.
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The Seoul Family Court ruled that Kwon Hyuk Bin, 52, Smilegate's chief vision officer, must transfer 35 percent of the unlisted company's shares and cash to his wife, a court official said by telephone.
The court valued Smilegate at 7.1 trillion won, the Yonhap news agency said. The court official could not immediately confirm the valuation.
Founded in 2002, the company is wholly owned by Kwon.
The court cited Kwon's wife's contribution to the company's founding and the subsequent roles she played in its management, Yonhap said. Kwon argued that there were no grounds for the divorce, Yonhap said.
Smilegate, Kwon and his representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
The settlement, if upheld, could surpass another high-profile South Korean divorce case involving SK Group Chairman Chey Tae Won. The billionaire was ordered by a court in July to pay his former spouse, Roh Soh Yeong, 944 billion won, down from the 1.38 trillion won settlement awarded by an appeals court in 2024.
Reuters
