LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo won a first-instance ruling in a lawsuit over inheritance assets left by his late father, former chairman Koo Bon-moo.

The Seoul Western District Court’s 11th Civil Division, led by Judge Koo Kwang-hyun, on Feb. 11 ruled against the plaintiffs in an inheritance restoration lawsuit filed by Koo’s spouse Kim Young-sik and two daughters, Koo Yeon-kyung, head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and Koo Yeon-soo, against Koo Kwang-mo. The court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims.

The ruling is the first-instance conclusion, 3 years after Kim and the two daughters filed the lawsuit in February 2023, calling for inherited assets to be divided again.

The assets left by Koo Bon-moo are known to be worth about 2 trillion won, including 11.28 percent of LG shares. Koo Kwang-mo inherited 8.76 percent out of the 11.28 percent stake in LG.

Kim and the two daughters are known to have received an inheritance worth about 500 billion won, including some LG shares of 2.01 percent for Koo Yeon-kyung and 0.51 percent for Koo Yeon-soo, as well as Koo Bon-moo’s personal assets such as financial investment products, real estate and artworks.

The plaintiffs previously said they agreed believing there was a will that Koo Kwang-mo would inherit all the shares, but filed the lawsuit arguing that an agreement based on mistake or fraud is not valid. They said the assets should be divided again under the usual statutory inheritance ratio of 1.5 for the spouse and 1 for each child.

Koo’s side countered based on testimony by a related party that the previous chairman had said he would designate Koo Kwang-mo as his successor and pass on management assets, as well as a family agreement. The court accepted Koo’s argument and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims.

[Yonhap News Agency]