LG refutes claims by chairman's mother, sisters in NYT interview

Late LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, front-row left, applauds with the group's owner family members including his son, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, second row center, and his oldest daughter, Koo Yeon-kyung, front-row right, during the 88th birthday party for late Honorary Chairman Koo Ja-kyung, front-row third from left, at InterContinental Seoul COEX in this 2012 file photo. Courtesy of LG Group

LG Group dismissed the claims of Chairman Koo Kwang-mo’s mother and two sisters in a recent New York Times interview as groundless, expressing uncomfortable feelings toward the lawsuit the three women filed in February railing against the inheritance of late Chairman Koo Bon-moo’s shares by his adopted son.

“It was already proven in the courtroom by evidence that what the plaintiffs said in the interview is untrue,” the conglomerate said Tuesday. “Distribution of the late chairman’s wealth and payment of inheritance taxes have been done by a legally binding agreement between the family members.”

The refutation came a day after the American newspaper published an interview with the former LG chairman’s widow, Kim Young-shik, and her daughters, Koo Yeon-kyung and Koo Yeon-sue.

The article was published on the occasion of a pretrial conference initially slated for Tuesday but delayed to Jan. 23.

In it, the eldest daughter explained that she started questioning the agreement on inheritance after her application for a credit card was rejected in 2021 because of excessive loans.

The late chairman’s biological daughter said she, her mother and her sister later realized they were paying large inheritance tax and loans against their LG shares. The women claimed that the incumbent chairman breached his promise to pay the entire inheritance tax on their behalf, in exchange for receiving a larger share.

According to the interview, the chairman sent his mother a letter in January saying that the company employees were short on funds to pay the inheritance tax under his name, so they paid it under her name using her assets, but that they had planned to pay her back.

In contrast to speculation that the women’s lawsuit is intended to meddle with LG's management rights, they reiterated in the interview that they do not want control of the group, considering its patriarchal traditions.

When the family feud broke out earlier this year, LG representatives emphasized that they will not tolerate any actions that shake the family tradition and management rights of the group.