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| Late LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo |
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Group Chariman Koo Bon-moo passed away Sunday after a year-long battle with a brain tumor. He was 73.
Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate said Koo died peacefully at 9:52 a.m. in Seoul while his family was watching.
Koo underwent several operations since April last year to remove a brain tumor. Following the surgeries, the late business tycoon had been receiving intense medical care but was unable to recover. He had been hospitalized at Seoul National University Hospital for months.
When Koo fell ill, he handed over the everyday management of the group to Koo Bon-joon, his younger brother and the group's vice chairman.
Born in 1945 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Koo is the grandson of LG founder Koo In-hoi and the eldest son of the group's honorary Chairman Koo Ja-kyung, who he replaced as group chief in 1995.
While he was serving as chairman, the group's revenue rose from 30 trillion won ($28.3 billion) a year to 160 trillion won.
"Becoming the third chairman of LG at the age of 50 in 1995, Koo established three key businesses -- electronics, chemicals and telecommunications -- as well as led a global company, LG, and contributed to driving (Korea's) industrial competitiveness and national economic development," LG said.
The group said the late chairman's family has decided to carry out a simple and private funeral in accordance with Koo's will, adding the family would respectively refuse to accept condolence visits and flowers.
"This is because the deceased always avoided complicated formalities and wished not to give others trouble because of him," the group said.
Koo is survived by his wife, two daughters and 40-year-old adopted son Koo Kwang-mo, who is seen to succeed the patriarch.
The son was adopted in 2004 from Heesung Group Chairman Koo Bon-neung, a younger brother of the late chairman.
The younger Koo joined the group's affiliate LG Electronics in 2006 and is currently managing LG Electronics' information display unit as vice president.
While the late chairman's health took a turn for the worse, the group said Thursday it would hold an emergency shareholders meeting on June 29 to elect the younger Koo as an inside director to prevent a power vacuum in the group's units.
The group said the top LG management discussed the need for an additional board member and the younger Koo is qualified given his rich experience in management.
The heir apparent Koo is the third-largest shareholder of LG Corp. having a 6.24 percent stake after his father who had 11.28 percent and Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon with 7.72 percent.
The younger Koo graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology and joined LG Electronics in 2006 as a senior manager, before being made an executive in 2015. LG Corp.'s core units are LG Electronics, LG Display and LG Chem.
