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.
LG shifts to independent director-led board chair system
LG Twin Tower in Seoul / Courtesy of LG Group
By Nam Hyun-woo
Move marks end of Koo Kwang-mo’s 8-year tenure as LG board chair
LG Group is set to fully adopt an independent director-led board chair system across its listed subsidiaries this year, marking a major shift in its governance structure and ending Chairman Koo Kwang-mo’s eight-year tenure as LG Corp. board chair.
According to industry sources Monday, major listed LG affiliates were expected to complete the appointment of independent directors as board chairs following this week’s shareholders’ meetings and subsequent board resolutions.
LG is scheduled to hold a board meeting on Thursday to deliberate and approve the appointment of a new board chair from among its outside directors, replacing Koo, who has concurrently served as board chair since becoming head of the group in June 2018.
The move is widely interpreted as part of LG’s efforts to further strengthen board independence and enhance checks and balances within its corporate governance, with the aim of improving transparency in decision-making.
The independent director-led chair system is regarded as a governance model aligned with global standards, designed to prevent potential conflicts of interest that may arise when the CEO also serves as board chair, while safeguarding shareholder interests through more transparent oversight.
Under the new structure, CEOs will focus more fully on management responsibilities, while board chairs will concentrate on independent oversight functions, reinforcing “board-centered management” across the group.
LG affiliates have been gradually shifting toward this model in recent years. LG Innotek and LG HelloVision adopted independent directors as board chairs in 2022 to strengthen board autonomy.
More recently, several key affiliates including LG Chem, LG Display, LG Energy Solution and HS Ad have appointed independent directors as board chairs following recent shareholder meetings.
LG Electronics also joined this shift on Monday, naming professor Kang Sue-jin of Korea University School of Law as its first independent director board chair. Kang has served on LG Electronics’ board since 2021 and has participated in key committees including internal transactions, audit and environmental, social and corporate governance.