Ruling upholds 2018 estate agreement, secures chairman’s control of LG Corp. stake
LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo has won a significant victory in an inheritance lawsuit, solidifying his control over a crucial stake within the conglomerate’s ownership framework.
The Seoul Western District Court on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit brought by the widow and two daughters of the late Chairman Koo Bon-moo. The court rejected their petition to invalidate the 2018 inheritance settlement and redistribute assets based on South Korean inheritance law.
This ruling concludes the initial phase of the legal battle, which commenced nearly three years ago in February 2023.
The core of the dispute revolved around the late chairman’s 11.28 percent shareholding in LG Corp., the holding company of the group, valued as part of an estate approximated at 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion). Following his father’s passing in 2018, Koo Kwang-mo inherited 8.76 percentage points of this stake, reinforcing his leadership of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate.
The plaintiffs — Kim Young-sik, the widow, and daughters Koo Yeon-kyung and Koo Yeon-soo — contended that the estate, including the LG Corp. shares, should be divided according to statutory inheritance laws. These laws allocate 1.5 shares to the spouse and one share to each child. They asserted that they initially consented to the division based on the mistaken assumption that a legally binding will had granted Koo Kwang-mo full ownership of the shares.
The court refuted these assertions, declaring that the settlement was lawfully executed and that no evidence of fraud or deceit existed.
The judges highlighted that the plaintiffs were repeatedly informed by the group’s financial management team following Koo Bon-moo’s death and actively engaged in negotiations. The agreement was even amended at Kim’s request to allocate a portion of the shares to the two daughters, instead of transferring all management-related assets to Koo Kwang-mo, as originally planned.
Under the 2018 settlement, the three plaintiffs collectively received a 2.52 percent stake in LG Corp., along with financial investments, real estate holdings, and art assets estimated at approximately 500 billion won. Kim currently possesses 4.2 percent of LG Corp., making her the third-largest shareholder, following Koo Kwang-mo (15.95 percent) and LT Group Chairman Koo Bon-sik (4.48 percent).
The court also referenced testimony indicating that the late chairman had left a memorandum expressing his desire for Koo Kwang-mo — whom he had adopted as his legal heir according to the group’s longstanding eldest-son succession tradition — to inherit management assets and succeed him as chairman.
This ruling eliminates a legal uncertainty that had been overshadowing LG’s ownership structure, although the plaintiffs retain the option to appeal the decision.
