首尔家庭法院驳回已故LG集团会长具本茂遗孀金英植解除与现任会长具光谟养子关系的申请

A South Korean court rejected a petition by Kim Young-sik, the widow of late former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo and adoptive mother of current Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, seeking to dissolve their adoptive relationship. The ruling handed Koo Kwang-mo a victory in the first trial.
Judge Lee Eun-joo of the Seoul Family Court on Sept. 3 rejected Kim’s petition for judicial dissolution of the adoption. The court did not disclose the specific reasons for its decision in the courtroom.
Kim filed the suit in November 2024 amid a legal dispute with Koo Kwang-mo over the estate of the late Koo Bon-moo. Koo Kwang-mo is the biological son of Koo Bon-neung, chairman of Heesung Group and younger brother of Koo Bon-moo. After losing his only son in an accident, Koo Bon-moo adopted his nephew Koo Kwang-mo in 2004 to facilitate the group’s succession. Koo Kwang-mo subsequently took over the group in accordance with LG Group’s tradition of succession through the eldest son.
After Koo Bon-moo died in 2018, Koo Kwang-mo inherited an 8.76% stake in LG Corp. and became its largest shareholder. Kim, her elder daughter Koo Yeon-kyung, head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and younger daughter Koo Yeon-soo received the remaining shares and about 500 billion won in financial assets, real estate, artwork and other property.
Kim and her two daughters subsequently filed an inheritance recovery lawsuit in February 2023, seeking a redistribution of the estate. They alleged that Koo Kwang-mo’s side led them to believe a will existed at the time of inheritance when there was in fact no will. Under South Korean civil law, when there is no will, a surviving spouse is entitled to an inheritance share 50% larger than that of each child, with the remaining shares divided equally among the children.
Koo Kwang-mo countered that the three women were aware there was no will and had already agreed to the inheritance settlement, confirming their consent through certificates of their registered seals. He also argued that the three-year statute of limitations for an inheritance recovery claim had expired. Supreme Court precedent holds that an agreement among heirs takes precedence when such an agreement exists.
The three women’s claims were rejected in the first trial in February, but they appealed and a second trial is pending. Kim’s adoption dissolution petition was aimed at legally ending the mother-son relationship. The move is seen as an attempt to establish symbolic and legal grounds in the inheritance dispute. Even if the adoption dissolution petition were granted, however, it would not immediately invalidate the completed inheritance of shares or Koo Kwang-mo’s position as LG Group chairman.