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A South Korean court has ordered gaming tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin to pay his ex-wife Lee Hwa-jin 2.55 trillion won ($1.87 billion) in assets, marking the largest divorce settlement in the country's history.
Kwon, who founded South Korea's third-largest video game company Smilegate, is one of the country's richest men, with a net worth estimated at $3 billion. The court ruled that a 35% stake in Smilegate, valued at about 2.5 trillion won, be transferred to his wife, along with an additional 65 billion won in cash.
This settlement is more than double the previous record of 944 billion won, which tech titan Chey Tae-won was ordered to pay his ex-wife. In filing for divorce, Lee sought a 50% stake in Smilegate, arguing that she had helped finance the company at its founding. Kwon and Lee married in 2001, a year before he founded Smilegate, which is known for titles like CrossFire and Lost Ark. Lee also stated she spent over 20 years raising their children and managing their household. Kwon countered that Lee neither invested nor worked for the company, and Smilegate's initial capital came solely from him. A spokesperson for Smilegate declined to comment on the matter.