Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office declined to indict No's legal representative Wednesday, citing insufficient evidence

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (left) and No So-young, director of Art Center Nabi. [Yonhap]
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (left) and No So-young, director of Art Center Nabi. [Yonhap]

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has appealed prosecutors' decision not to indict a lawyer representing No So-young, director of Art Center Nabi, on charges of defamation through the spread of false information. Chey's side said it filed the appeal because the non-indictment decision was being misrepresented as a validation of the claims made by No's legal representative.

Chey's representatives said Tuesday they had filed an appeal against the decision not to indict lawyer A, who represents No in the divorce proceedings, on charges of defamation through the spread of false information. Under the Prosecutors' Office Act, a complainant or accuser who contests a prosecutor's non-indictment decision may appeal in writing to the chief prosecutor of the competent high prosecutors office through the district prosecutors office to which the prosecutor belongs. With the appeal filed, the Seoul High Prosecutors Office will now review the case.

In November 2023, lawyer A stated during proceedings in a damages lawsuit that No filed against Kim Hee-young — a former director of the T&C Foundation and Chey's live-in partner — that Chey had spent more than 100 billion won ($74.3 million) on Kim since 2015 alone. Chey's side filed a complaint against A on charges of defamation through the spread of false information.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office declined to indict A on Wednesday, citing insufficient evidence to prove that A had knowingly spread false information.

Chey's representatives said Tuesday that the amount Chey and Kim spent together on living expenses "has been confirmed through a review of financial transaction records and was presented in detail to the court handling the asset division proceedings." They added that the figure stood at around 2 billion won at the time the claim was made and that both No and A were aware of this.

They further said the figure A circulated was calculated by combining all expenditures from Chey's accounts regardless of their purpose, and even included money paid to No herself. "As a result, a number more than 50 times the actual amount was created and spread through the media," they said.

Chey's side argued the non-indictment was inappropriate, pointing to three specific problems with the figure A had circulated: it included amounts spent on No herself and their three children; it included contributions and donations to several foundations for public-interest purposes; and it included all assets held solely in Chey's name.

Chey's representatives also said that the housing and artworks registered in his name are personal assets subject to the asset division proceedings and are already included in the division hearings with No. "No's side has demanded that the same assets be divided as marital joint property in court, while publicly claiming they were gifted to Kim," they said. "The two positions cannot coexist."

They added that "nowhere in the decision is there a finding that the circulated figure was confirmed as fact," but that the ruling was nonetheless being misrepresented as an acknowledgment of the truth of the claims. "We have decided to appeal the non-indictment decision through the procedures established by law and seek a fresh judgment," they said.


bell@heraldcorp.com