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LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo wins family inheritance battle against his mother and sisters

Published: 12 Feb. 2026, 12:33 Updated: 12 Feb. 2026, 19:47

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is seen at the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo District, western Seoul on Jan. 6. [NEWS1]

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo won a court battle on Thursday against his mother and sisters over the inheritance of assets left by his late father, former LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo.

The Seoul Western District Court ruled in Koo Kwang-mo’s favor at a hearing at on Thursday, and ruled against the plaintiffs, Koo Kwang-mo’s adoptive mother and sisters, who had filed a lawsuit seeking recovery of inheritance from Koo Kwang-mo.

The ruling marks the first-instance decision three years after Kim Young-sik, the widow of Koo Bon-moo, and two daughters — Koo Yeon-kyung, head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and Koo Yeon-soo — filed suit in February 2023, claiming that the inherited assets should be redistributed.

The late Koo Bon-moo left assets worth about 2 trillion won ($1.39 billion), including an 11.28 percent stake in LG Corporation. Koo Kwang-mo inherited 8.76 percentage points of that stake.

Kim and the two daughters received assets worth about 500 billion won combined. That included the remainder of Koo Bon-Moo's LG Corporation shares, which went to the daughters: 2.01 percent for Koo Yeon-kyung and 0.51 percent for Koo Yeon-soo. The mother and sisters also received financial investment products, real estate and artwork that had belonged to the late chairman.

The plaintiffs said they had agreed to the original division because they believed there was a will from Koo Bon-moo stating that Koo Kwang-mo would inherit all the shares. They filed the lawsuit about four years after the former chairman’s death in March 2018.

Kim Young-sik, the widow of the late LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo, is seen during a cosmetics expo in Osong, North Chungcheong in 2021 [JOONGANG ILBO]

The mother and sisters argued that the original agreement should be nullified, citing inheritance laws which state that agreements based upon error or deception are invalid. They asked the court that the assets be redistributed according to the statutory inheritance ratio, which is 1.5 for the spouse and 1 for each child.

Koo Kwang-mo’s side rejected those claims. The defense cited testimony from group officials who said the late chairman had expressed that Koo Kwang-mo should become the next chairman and inherit all management-related assets.

The defense also pointed to agreements reached among family members, reportedly including a signed note by Kim Young-sik, the mother, agreeing that Koo Kwang-mo inherit the management of the group.

The court accepted Koo Kwang-mo’s arguments and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims.

Koo Kwang-mo took leadership of LG in 2018 as the fourth generation of his family to lead the company. He was born as a nephew of the late LG patriarch, and was adopted as Koo Bon-moo's only son in 2004.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]