Page 79 - Forbes - Asia (June 2018)

KOO BON-MOO

A Changing of the Guard at LG

he tragic death of his son in 2004 let
LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-Moo
Twith two daughters but without a male
heir. So Koo legally adopted Koo Kwang-Mo,
then 26, a younger brother’s only son, and
groomed him to take over someday. Now,
with Bon-Moo’s death from brain cancer last
month, Kwang-Mo is expected to become the
new LG chairman when the board meets June
29. He was elevated to the board of the hold-
ing company, LG Corp., ater his father died.
Chaebol transitions oten lead to ights,
but a power struggle seems unlikely at LG.
he father, who was 73, owned 11.28% of
LG Corp., and his son holds 6.24%, easily
enough to guarantee Kwang-Mo’s succession.
here’s one complication, however. Another
of Bon-Moo’s younger brothers, Bon-Joon, Koo Kwang-Mo (right) is expected to take
over after the death of Koo Bon-Moo.
66, is vice chairman of both LG Corp. and
LG Electronics and was put in charge during his brother’s Goldstar name to LG. Annual
year-long illness. A spokesman says he will continue to “over- revenue was just $30 billion
see major operations and lead and direct major management back then. he group is riding
meetings.” He owns 7.72% of LG Corp. high these days on sales of TV
Kwang-Mo’s experience is rather limited, so his focus at sets, smartphones and wash-
irst will be shareholder relations—keeping stockholders, ing machines. Although the
especially the Koo family, happy. Only 40, he’s expected to founder and his heirs avoided
grow into the chairman’s job under his uncle’s tutelage. A the temptation to compete in
graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S., motor vehicles, LG does have
he has worked for LG Electronics for 12 years and is vice a stake in the industry, making
president of its information-display unit. LG is South Korea’s batteries and LED lights. It
fourth-largest chaebol and generated $160 billion in revenue recently made its costliest acquisition, purchasing ZKW, an
last year, mostly in chemicals, telecommunications, house- Austrian manufacturer of automotive lights, for $1.5 billion.
hold products and electronics. “As a younger executive with Bon-Moo was the oldest of the four Koo brothers, and
international experience and a solid technical background, they all made the rich list each year. Last year he ranked
Kwang-Mo may be able to provide the group with the direc- 13th; his fortune totaled $2.2 billion as of February. The
tion and leadership that will be important for the next two company hasn’t said how that wealth will be distributed, but
decades,” says Hank Morris, a longtime inancial-sector ana- Kwang-Mo and his sisters are expected to inherit all or most
lyst in Seoul. LG stands to proit “as batteries make electric of the LG shares. He ranked 48th on last year’s list with
vehicles and appliances ever more important.” $720 million but did not make the cutoff this year. The next
Koo Bon-Moo was the grandson of Koo In-Hwoi, who Koo brother, Bon-Neung, is the one who gave up Kwang-Mo
founded Lucky as a chemical company in 1947 and started for adoption. He chairs Heesung Group, which LG spun off,
Goldstar in electronics 11 years later. His son, Koo Ja-Kyung, and is No. 37 this year, with $1.15 billion. Bon-Joon, the vice
who is now 93, turned the company over to Bon-Moo in chair, is 45th, at $1 billion, and Bon-Sik, the youngest, is No.
1995. he irst thing Bon-Moo did was change the Lucky 34 at $1.18 billion. —D.K.

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