The mother and younger sisters of LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo filed a lawsuit for inheritance recovery against Chairman Koo, saying, “Let’s divide the inheritance left by the late Chairman Koo Bon-moo.”
On February 28, Koo’s mother, Kim Young-sik, and her younger sister, Koo Yeon-kyung, CEO of LG Welfare Foundation, and Koo Yeon-soo, filed a lawsuit for inheritance recovery (2023 Gahap 31228) against Chairman Koo at the Seoul Western District Court. This case was assigned to the 11th Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Park Tae-il).
Kang Il-won (64, Judicial Research and Training Institute, 14th class), who served as a judge on the Constitutional Court, served as the plaintiff’s representative. Bae In-goo (55th, 25th class), a lawyer at Logos Law Firm, and lawyers Jo Young-wook and Seong Joo-kyung also represent the plaintiffs. Representative lawyer Kang Seok-hoon (60th, 19th class) of the law firm Yulchon, lawyer Kim Geun-jae, and lawyer Kim Seong-woo were appointed as the attorneys for the accused chairman Koo.
Chairman Koo was originally born as the son of Heesung Group Chairman Koo Bon-neung, but was adopted as the adopted son of his eldest father, Chairman Koo Bon-moo. Kim and his two daughters, the spouse of former chairman Koo Bon-moo, are known to insist that inheritance be made according to the statutory inheritance ratio. The plaintiffs, including Mr. Kim, said, “The filing of this lawsuit is not a management dispute, but rather to correct the procedural problems that occurred in the inheritance process for family harmony.” Article 999 of the Civil Act stipulates that, when the right of inheritance is infringed by a person who has the false right to inherit, the person having the right to inherit or his/her legal representative may file an action for restoration of inheritance.
In a statement on the 10th, LG said, “It has been more than 4 years since the inheritance of property was legally completed through several family discussions for 5 months after the death of the former president, and the 3 years of the exclusion period have already passed.” 11.28% of LG Co., Ltd. shares, totaling KRW 2 trillion, Chairman Koo and four heirs negotiated several times to inherit LG Co., Ltd. and other property related to management rights, and Mr. Kim and his two younger sisters inherited some of LG Co., Ltd. stocks We agreed to receive a legacy of 500 billion won, including real estate, the personal property of the chairman.”
“All shares in LG Co., Ltd., which are properties related to management rights, had to be inherited by Chairman Koo, but Chairman Koo accepted the request of three other heirs, and his younger sister, CEO Koo and Mr. Koo, each owned a 2.01% stake in LG Corp. , 0.51% (approximately 83 billion won at the time),” he said. I have made five payments so far using the annual installment payment system, and I plan to pay the last inheritance tax at the end of this year.” Their inheritance tax totaled 990 billion won.
