Seoul: An appellate court has referred SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's divorce settlement case to court mediation after the top court remanded it to the appellate court for retrial, sources said Friday. The Seoul High Court designated a mediation hearing for the divorce settlement case between Chey and Roh Soh-yeong, daughter of late former President Roh Tae-woo, on May 13.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the decision allows the two sides to seek a divorce settlement through court mediation rather than trial, although whether a mediated settlement will be possible remains unclear. Last October, the top court partially overturned the Seoul High Court's ruling that ordered Chey to pay about 1.38 trillion won (US$932.2 million) in asset division to his then wife, Roh.

While the appeals court had recognized a purported slush fund of 30 billion won allegedly funneled from the former president to Chey's father in the property division, the Supreme Court said it could not be considered as the alleged fund appeared to have been illegally formed. The top court still confirmed the divorce and the lower court's order for Chey to pay 2 billion won in alimony.

The appellate court held a hearing in January for a retrial, but no further proceedings have taken place since. The case dates back to 2015, when Chey announced a divorce plan, admitting to having an extramarital lover and a child with her, and filed for a divorce settlement two years later. Chey and Roh married in 1988 and have three children.