[LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo Dies] In Line with Family Tradition, Eldest Son Koo Kwang-mo to Succeed the Late Chairman: Temporary Management by the Group's CEOs

[경향신문] LG is now set to have the fourth generation of the owner family take over management. Koo Kwang-mo (40), an executive director of LG Electronics, will follow in the footsteps of Koo In-hwoi, founder of the LG Group; Koo Ja-kyung, honorary chairman; and Koo Bon-moo and succeed management according to a family tradition of succession by the eldest son. An advisory board of the chief executive officers of the group's major subsidiaries is expected to be very busy as it will handle Koo Kwang-mo's succession of management and assist him in building his capacity as a leader. Koo Bon-joon, vice chairman of LG Corp., who had managed the group, is expected to acquire some of the group’s businesses and go his separate way.

LG held a board meeting on May 17 and decided to recommend Koo Kwang-mo as a registered director, and the company will hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on June 29 to finalize this. This is a measure to make Koo's succession of management official. Koo's future position and duties will be confirmed after the shareholders' meeting. Koo is relatively young, at just forty, and it has been less than 5 years since he was promoted to executive director in 2014. Given this situation, most experts expect Koo to focus on the stable succession of management and on grasping the group's business for the time being.

The LG Group owner family at the 88th birthday party of Koo Ja-kyung (front row third from left), honorary chairman of LG, in April 2012. This is the only picture released to the public showing Koo Bon-moo (front row left), chairman of LG; Koo Bon-joon, vice chairman of LG; Koo Kwang-mo, executive director of LG Electronics; Koo Bon-neung (from the second from left in the back row), chairman of Heesung Group; and Koo Bon-sik (back row second from right) vice chairman of Heesung Group. Kyunghyang Shinmun file photo

The group's CEOs including Ha Hyun-hwoi, vice chairman of LG Corp.; Park Jin-soo, vice chairman of LG Chem; Han Sang-beom, vice chairman of LG Display; Cha Suk-yong, vice chairman of LG Household & Health Care; Kwon Young-soo, vice chairman of LG Uplus; and Jo Seong-jin, vice chairman of LG Electronics are expected to assist Koo during the succession of management. Koo Kwang-mo owns 6.24% of the shares of LG Corp. and he will have to pay nearly 1 trillion won in taxes in order to inherit all of the shares owned by the late Koo Bon-moo (11.28%) and by his biological father, Koo Bon-neung (3.45%), chairman of Heesung Group.

Koo is the son of Koo Bon-neung, the younger brother of Koo Bon-moo, but was designated as the successor to LG when he was adopted by Koo Bon-moo in 2004.

Koo Kwang-mo graduated from Kyungbok Elementary School and Youngdong High School in Seoul and graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S. In 2006, Koo joined LG Electronics as an assistant manager of finance. He was part of the advanced product planning team in the Home Entertainment Company after a stint in New Jersey, and ran the Changwon plant of the Home Appliance Company.

This year, Koo began working as the head of the information display division in the B2B Company, cited as the future “fuel” of LG Electronics. Most speak of Koo as "modest and easygoing," but some experts point out that he has yet to show any notable achievements.

Meanwhile, eyes are also on Koo Bon-joon, vice chairman of LG and the younger brother of the late chairman, and on what role he will play in the future. Koo Bon-joon had practically managed the group for the past year on behalf of the chairman, but there is no possibility of him running the group from “behind the curtains” according to the family's tradition of succession by the eldest son. Reportedly, the Koo family have already agreed on the succession of management.

This reaffirms the principle established by the group's founder Koo In-hwoi, who stated that once the succession process began, the brothers of the previous generation should step down from management to prevent any disputes over management.

In the business world, people believe that Koo Bon-joon may acquire some of the businesses owned by LG Group and leave the group. Koo may take over some of the business by trading his shares of LG Corp. (7.72%) with shares of LG subsidiaries.

This was how Koo Bon-neung, the younger son of honorary chairman Koo Ja-kyung, left the group and established his own Heesung group. In the business circle, LG International and the biotechnology division of LG Chem are cited as possible candidates.