Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Court rules for LG chairman in family dispute over holding company stake
LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo attends a state banquet for Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Nov. 1, 2025. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
By Nam Hyun-woo
Uncertainty over LG's ownership structure eases for now
A district court ruled in favor of LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo on Thursday in a legal dispute with his adoptive mother and her daughters over their stakes in the group’s holding company, LG Corp., temporarily easing concerns over a potential challenge to his management control.
The Seoul Western District Court rejected a lawsuit filed by the chairman's adoptive mother and her daughters, saying it found no legal grounds to support the plaintiffs’ claims that his LG Corp. shares, which he inherited from former LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo, should be reallocated to them.
The decision came three years after the late chairman’s widow, Kim Young-sik, and two daughters — Koo Yeon-kyung, head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and Koo Yeon-soo — filed the suit over the reallocation of inherited assets.
The former chairman left assets worth about 2 trillion won ($1.39 billion), including an 11.28 percent stake in LG Corp. The current chairman inherited 8.76 percentage points of that stake, while Kim and the two daughters received assets worth 500 billion won, including 2.01 percent of LG Corp. for Koo Yeon-kyung and 0.51 percent for Koo Yeon-soo.
The plaintiffs filed the suit in February 2023, four years after the chairman’s death, claiming that they had agreed to the inheritance under the belief that there was a will stating that Koo Kwang-mo would receive all the shares. They argued the inheritance should be divided again according to a law stating that spouses and children inherit assets in a 1.5-to-1 ratio.
LG Group's owner family members attend the 88th birthday ceremony of Koo Cha-kyung, front row third from left, the second chairman of LG Group, at Coex in southern Seoul, in this April 2012 file photo. Front row left is Koo's son Koo Bon-moo, the third chairman of LG Group, front row right is the second chairman's daughter Koo Yeon-kyeong, and back row center is current LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Courtesy of LG Group
However, the current chairman’s side refuted the claim, citing a family agreement and testimony from group officials that the late chairman handpicked the current chairman as his successor and expressed intent to give all management assets to him.
LG Corp. Chief Financial Officer Ha Beom-jong, one of the late chairman’s closest aides, testified in court in October 2023 that the late chairman had left a memo stating that “all LG Corp. shares should go to Koo Kwang-mo” and all heirs had signed the document. However, he said the memo was not a formal will and had been destroyed after the inheritance procedures were completed.
The district court said in the ruling that even if the plaintiffs had been misled, the inheritance agreement is still valid.
The family initially agreed that the current chairman would inherit all the shares, but later revised the agreement at Kim’s request to transfer part of the shares to the two daughters. The court noted that this shows the distribution agreement was based on the heirs’ specific intentions and therefore it did not constitute fraud that would invalidate the agreement.
Law firm Yulchon, the current chairman’s legal representatives, said in a statement, “The court has confirmed that the distribution agreement was made in accordance with proper legal procedures and reflected the intentions of the heirs.”
The plaintiffs said through their legal representative that they “deeply regret that the ruling was made solely based on testimony and materials from the financial management team,” and will file "an immediate appeal."
Thursday’s ruling has eased potential risks to the current chairman’s control over LG Group, at least for now. As of September last year, Koo was the largest shareholder of LG Corp. with a 16.27 percent stake, including the 8.76 percent stake under dispute. The combined stake held by Kim and her daughters stood at 7.99 percent.
Had the plaintiffs’ claims succeeded, the chairman’s stake would have declined to 10.02 percent, while the plaintiffs’ combined stake would grow to 14.25 percent.
The ruling comes at a critical juncture, as profitability at LG Group’s key affiliates has slowed, underscoring the need to secure new growth drivers in emerging businesses such as artificial intelligence and robotics. If the court had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, it could have heightened uncertainty and distracted LG’s management from its core businesses.
Koo was adopted into the late chairman’s family in 2004, part of LG Group’s custom of passing its top leadership to the eldest son of the controlling family. His biological father is Koo Bon-neung, younger brother of Koo Bon-moo.