[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Family Claims First-Instance Court Overlooked Alleged Deception in Estate Division

The widow and daughters of the late Koo Bon-moo have announced plans to appeal after losing a first-instance lawsuit seeking redistribution of his estate.

In a statement released through legal counsel on Feb. 12, Kim Young-sik and her daughters—Koo Yeon-kyung, head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and Koo Yeon-soo—argued that the ruling failed to address what they described as organized deception by LG’s financial management team and related parties aligned with the defendant.

They stated that the court’s decision relied primarily on testimony and materials provided by the financial management team, which they allege held exclusive control over information regarding the estate. The plaintiffs contended that the court overlooked the essence of the alleged infringement on their inheritance rights.

“The court accepted statements by financial management team employees who provided materially false information during the estate division process, recognizing the existence of the so-called ‘maintenance memo’ and concluding that no deception occurred,” the statement read. The plaintiffs further argued that their expressions of intent during the division process were based on inaccurate information and restricted access to key facts.

They added that they would immediately file an appeal, asserting that their position and evidence were not sufficiently reflected in the judgment, and vowed to seek clarification of the alleged deception and confirmation of the late chairman’s true intentions.

Earlier that day, the Seoul Western District Court’s 11th Civil Division dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim for recovery of inheritance against LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

The court ruled that the estate division agreement had been validly executed. It noted that while the initial draft provided for Koo Kwang-mo to inherit all shares, the agreement was later revised at the plaintiffs’ request to allocate a portion to them, indicating that there had been specific expressions of intent regarding the distribution.

Yulchon LLC, representing Chairman Koo, stated that the ruling confirmed the estate division agreement was conducted lawfully and reflected the genuine intent of the parties involved.

 

 

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