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May 21, 2018

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LG Group chairman dies of brain disease

THE chairman of LG Group, Koo Bon-moo, who helped transform South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate into a global brand, passed away yesterday after a battle with a brain disease.

Koo, 73, had been ill for a year, LG Group said in a statement.

Koo had been fighting a brain disease and had undergone surgery, said a group official who declined to be identified.

“Becoming the third chairman of LG at the age of 50 in 1995, Koo established three key businesses — electronics, chemicals and telecommunications — led a global company LG, and contributed to driving (South Korea’s) industrial competitiveness and national economic development,” LG said.

LG Group also established a holding company in order to streamline ownership structure and to begin the process of succession.

The country’s powerful family-run conglomerates are implementing generational succession amid growing calls from the government and public to improve transparency and corporate governance.

LG Corp, a holding company of the conglomerate, had said on Thursday its longtime chairman was unwell and it planned to nominate his son to its board of directors in preparation for a leadership succession.

Heir apparent Koo Kwang-mo is from the fourth generation of LG Group’s controlling family. He owns 6 percent of LG Corp and currently heads LG Electronics’ information display unit.

He joined the finance division of LG Electronics in 2006 and has been involved in several businesses such as appliances, home entertainment and group strategy, LG said.

The late chairman adopted Koo in 2004 from his younger brother Koo Bon-neung after his only son died in a car accident.

The change at the helm is not expected to be disruptive to the group’s business, one analyst said.

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