SEOUL: A South Korean court ordered an AI chip-manufacturing tycoon on Friday (Jul 24) to make a trimmed-down US$644 million divorce payment to his former wife. Chey Tae-won, 65, is the chairman of the SK Group, which owns world-leading memory chipmaker SK hynix - a pillar of South Korea's tech-led economy. Seoul High Court in 2024 had told him to pay 1.38 trillion won (US$940 million) to his ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong, daughter of a former South Korean president. Chey appealed to the Supreme Court, which told the high court to reconsider its 2024 decision and led to the tycoon's reduced divorce bill of 944 billion won (US$644 million). Seoul High Court ruled Friday that Roh was entitled to a cash payout worth one-third of the couple's marital assets.