South Korea Orders Billionaire Gaming Founder To Pay $1.5 Billion In Divorce Settlement
Mian Nadeem
Published September 10, 2026 | 10:15 PM
A South Korean court has ordered Kwon Hyuk-bin, the billionaire founder of prominent video game company Smilegate, to pay nearly $1.5 billion in their divorce settlement, including transferring about 35% of the company’s shares to his former wife and paying 65 billion won in cash.
The court stated that both parties had played their respective roles in the family and business during their marriage, but their relationship had deteriorated to the point that it could no longer continue.
Kwon Hyuk-bin founded Smilegate in 2002. Popular video games such as Crossfire and Lost Ark helped the company establish a prominent position in the global gaming market.
According to a South Korean local magazine, the ruling is among the largest asset-division divorce cases in the country’s history and could surpass the previous record. The former wife filed for divorce in 2022, arguing that she had played an important role in her husband’s business journey and was therefore entitled to a major share of the company’s assets. However, the court rejected her separate claim for damages and issued a ruling on the division of assets.
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Related Topics:
- Video Games
- Business
- Company
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Wife
- South Korea
- Market
- Family
- Share
- Billion
- Court
