A South Korean court is set to rule Wednesday on whether to grant Lee Hwa-jin's petition to divorce Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin. Local media have reported that Kwon has told the court he does not want the marriage to end, which means the judge must determine whether to approve the divorce before ruling on how to split assets. The proceedings are closed to the public, filings are sealed, and the appraisal report is not available.
Kwon's attorneys declined to comment. The decision could alter who holds sway over one of the country's largest private companies.
Kwon's wealth is estimated at $3 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He controls Smilegate, the company behind the hit shooter Crossfire and the role-playing title Lost Ark. According to local coverage, an appraisal mandated by the court put his assets at as high as 8 trillion won, implying that about 4 trillion won could be on the table if the court accepts the division Lee is seeking. Because Smilegate is not publicly traded, any valuation of Kwon's holdings relies on appraisal rather than a market price, which complicates the math.
Bloomberg reviewed an official registry record indicating that Lee once served in executive positions at Smilegate. Her side has told local media she helped finance the company at the start and took part in early management, holding a 30% stake, serving as chief executive, and later becoming a registered director. Smilegate said earlier this year that Kwon provided all of the company's initial capital, while acknowledging Lee held a 30% stake at founding.
The company also stated that Lee did not perform her duties on-site and lacked a dedicated desk there. Lee's lawyers did not provide an immediate comment when asked.
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Chey appealed the decision. Both disputes center on how courts weigh a spouse's role in building family wealth. In Chey's case, the court partly agreed with arguments that household, child-rearing, and public activities supported SK, while Chey maintained his SK shares were inherited and should not be divided.
Kwon's case differs in a key way: the company Smilegate came into existence in 2002, subsequent to the couple's marriage. Any split will hinge on the court's view of Lee's contribution and the assigned value of Smilegate's unlisted shares. For your wallet, the takeaway is about process, not prediction: when fortunes sit in private stakes, court rulings and appraisals can move the ownership puzzle in ways a stock ticker never shows.
