Court Dismisses Koo Kwang-mo’s Adoption Dissolution Claim; Adoptive Mother Loses at First Trial

[Financial News] A court has rejected a lawsuit filed by Kim Young-sik, the widow of the late former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, seeking to dissolve her adoptive parent-child relationship with her adoptive son, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. The first trial ended with Koo prevailing in the legal battle between the adoptive mother and son over the legitimacy of the succession of management rights.
Lee Eun-joo, a judge at Seoul Family Court’s Family Division 6, dismissed Kim Young-sik’s lawsuit seeking the judicial dissolution of her adoptive relationship with Koo Kwang-mo on the 3rd. The court did not disclose the specific grounds for its decision.
The adoption dissolution lawsuit between Kim Young-sik and Koo Kwang-mo was filed in November 2024, while their legal dispute over inherited assets was intensifying.
Koo Kwang-mo is the biological son of Koo Bon-neung, chairman of Heesung Group and the younger brother of the late former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo. After losing his only son in an accident, Koo Bon-moo adopted his nephew, Koo Kwang-mo, in 2004 to ensure the succession of the group. In line with LG Group’s tradition of succession through the eldest son, Koo inherited the group as Kim Young-sik’s adoptive son.
After Koo Bon-moo died in 2018, Koo Kwang-mo inherited most of his shares in LG and became the largest shareholder. In 2023, Koo Bon-moo’s widow, Kim Young-sik, and his two daughters, Yeonkyung Ku, head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and Ku Yeon-soo, filed a lawsuit seeking to redistribute the inherited assets according to the statutory inheritance ratios—1.5 for the spouse and 1 for each child.
The first trial dismissed the claims of the three women in February, but a second trial is scheduled following their appeal. Analysts say Kim Young-sik’s strong push for the “legal dissolution of the adoptive parent-child relationship” is a last-ditch effort to secure symbolic and legal justification in the ongoing inheritance dispute. However, even if the adoption dissolution claim were upheld, the completed inheritance of shares and Koo Kwang-mo’s position as chairman of the group would not be immediately invalidated.
Immediately after the ruling, Kim Young-sik said outside the courtroom, "I will see this through to the end until the relationship is settled." She added, "I do not think we can continue the adoptive relationship with Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and I hope we can both return to our respective families."
[email protected] Chang-hoon Lee Reporter