The ex-husband of Hotel Shilla's CEO and the eldest daughter of the Samsung group's chief has filed a suit, seeking over 1 trillion won ($857 million) in property division, legal sources said Wednesday.

Im Woo-jae, an adviser at Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., filed the case with the Seoul Family Court late last month. He has also filed the case with the Suwon District Court where the appeals trial on his divorce suit is pending.

In January, the Seongnam branch of the Suwon court accepted the divorce claim filed by Lee Boo-jin, awarding parental rights and custody of their elementary school-aged child to Lee. Im was given rights to visit his son once a month.

The case entered a new phase as Im previously claimed that he had never taken into consideration the division of property, as he wanted to protect the family.

The Seoul family court said it is reviewing whether it has the jurisdiction over the case, as the couple's divorce suit is already pending at the Suwon court.

The couple is known to have met in 1995 and their wedding four years later drew much public attention. It was deemed a love story between an heiress of a multi-billion dollar business group and a rank-and-file employee at one of the conglomerate's affiliate firms. (Yonhap)