LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo has been sued by his family over an inheritance he got more than four years ago, in a conflict that threatens to disrupt the country’s fourth-largest chaebol’s management (a large family-owned business conglomerate).
On February 28, Koo’s stepmother and two stepsisters filed a case with the Seoul Western District Court, requesting the annulment of inheritance that occurred after the death of Koo Bon-moo, the late LG Group chairman, in May 2018.
Koo Kwang-mo is the late chairman’s nephew, who adopted him in 2004 when his only son died in a vehicle accident, and appointed LG chairman in June 2018, according to Yonhap.
LG Group continues the long-standing practise of the eldest son taking over the family business.
The plaintiffs claim that the bequest be divided afresh in accordance with the applicable law, which states that the husband and kid each receive 60% and 40% of the inheritance, respectively.
The late chairman held 11.28 percent of LG Group’s stock. Koo Kwang-mo inherited 8.76% of them, making him the largest shareholder of the conglomerate, which includes firms such as LG Electronics, LG Display, and LG Chem.
At the time, the former chairman’s eldest daughter received 2.01%, his second daughter received 0.5%, and his wife, Kim Young-sik, received none.
The partition of the inherited property was “lawful,” according to LG Group, and was made after “many meetings” between family members over the course of five months following Koo Bon-death. moo’s
“It is hard to understand why they raised the issue now, four years after the inheritance was completed,” LG said in a statement, adding, “Any attempt to shake LG’s tradition and management rights cannot be tolerated.”
