A South Korean court ordered billionaire Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin to give his wife a 35 per cent stake in the company he founded and owns as part of their divorce, in what would be the country’s biggest-ever marital settlement.

The Seoul Family Court on Sept 9 ruled in favour of Lee Hwa-jin, who is seeking a divorce from Kwon, Yonhap News reported.

The court ordered Kwon give Lee a 35 per cent stake in the company, which would be worth more than 2 trillion won (S$1.89 billion), Yonhap said.

The settlement, if finalised, would be more than the 944 billion won a Seoul High Court recently ordered SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his former wife in their divorce case, which was previously the country’s record.

Kwon, 52, is worth an estimated US$3 billion (S$3.79 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He controls Smilegate, the gaming company he founded and which is behind blockbuster shooter Crossfire and role-playing title Lost Ark.

Both sides can challenge the ruling. BLOOMBERG