A Seoul court Thursday ordered Samsung Group heiress Lee Boo-jin to provide assets of 8.6 billion won ($7.64 million) to her estranged husband in a divorce from the ex-employee of a Samsung affiliate.
Lee, the 46-year-old chief executive of Hotel Shilla and daughter of ailing Samsung Group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, received sole custody of their son in the ruling, a spokeswoman for the Seoul family court told Reuters. If appealed within two weeks, however, the ruling is not final, the spokeswoman added. Im Woo-jae, 48, was dubbed "Mr. Cinderella" by media for his humble background before marrying Lee in 1999. But in late 2014, she filed for divorce and custody of their child.
Im, who filed his own suit seeking 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) from Lee through a division of assets, plans to appeal against the ruling, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said, citing one of his lawyers. An employee of a security service affiliate of Samsung Group who did not belong to the political or business elite, Im was seen as an unusual match for a member of a family controlling South Korea's most powerful business conglomerate.
