December 22, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo died on May 20 suffering illnesses for the past year. He was 73 years old.

"The funeral will be held privately at an undisclosed location as requested by his family, and the details of the funeral will not be made public," the conglomerate said in a statement.

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He had been hospitalized at Seoul National University Hospital for a year due, reportedly, to side effects of brain surgeries he had early last year. 

As he was in a critical health condition in recent days, the conglomerate called an emergency meeting of the board of directors on May 17 to discuss the nomination of the chairman’s adopted son and LG vice president Koo Kwang-mo as a registered member of the board of directors.

Born in 1945 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, he went to Yonsei University in 1964 and then graduated from Ashland University before earning a master's degree in business administration from Cleveland State University. 

The late chairman Koo, the eldest son of LG Group's honorary chairman Koo Cha-kyung, joined LG Chem in 1975, and climed the corporate ladder, at tech giant LG Electronics and holding company LG Corp., before taking the helm of the conglomerate in 1995.

He is survived by his wife Kim Young-sik, daughter of former Minister of Health Kim Tae-dong, and two daughters Yeon-kyung and Yeon-soo. After his only son Koo Won-mo died in a car accident in 1994, the chairman adopted his nephew Koo Kwang-mo, a son of the late chairman’s late younger brother Koo Bon-neung, the chairman of Heesung Group, in 2004.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)