Chmn. Koo Kwang-mo of LG Group. (Photos: LG)

LG Group has selected Koo Kwang-mo, 40, to replace his late father Koo Bon-moo, who passed away suddenly in June. New LG Chairman Koo’s choice represents the ushering in of an era of inheriting management rights of the group to the fourth generation siblings of the founder Koo In-hoe. Koo is the youngest chairman among the nation’s top ten conglomerates.
LG Corp., the holding company of LG Group, convened a shareholders’ meeting at the LG Twin Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, on June 29 and approved a proposal to elect Managing Director Koo of LG Electronics as an inside director of the board of LG Corp.
LG Corp. soon elected him as chairman-CEO of the holding company. The younger Koo’s promotion to chairman-CEO is extraordinary considering the local business community’s expectation he would be promoted to vice chairman of the group. LG said the younger Koo participated in the shareholders’ meeting as a member of the board of LG Corp. and CEO who was vacant by former chairman Koo’s death and he became chairman and CEO to ensure responsibility management.
The new Chairman Koo told the board of LG Corp. he would devote himself to inheriting and developing the customer value that LG has accumulated over the years, respecting human beings and principled management, overhauling things requiring changes, and building growth momentum in a long-term perspective.
Chairman Koo, born in January 1978, is 40. He is charged with the nation’s fourth largest conglomerate with 70 subsidiaries and a combined 160 trillion won in sales as of the end of 2017. The group has assets worth 123 trillion won and 210,000 employees. The founder Koo was 40 when he established Rakhi Chemical, predecessor of the group.
LG plan to retain an exemplar holding company regime and let each specialized manager charged with each subsidiary under a regime of responsibility management. No wonder the group would retain stability, since such managers as Electronics Vice Chairman Cho Sung-jin, LG Chem Vice Chairman Park Jin-soo, LG U+ Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo, LG Display Vice Chairman Han Sang-bum, and LG Household & Health Care Vice Chairman Cha Suk-yong have managed to achieve tangible outcomes to stabilize management.
Each board of directors is expected to play a bigger part in the decision-making process of the group. The shareholder’s meeting also approved former Naver president Kim Sang-heon as an outside director of LG Corp. LG Group expects new outside director Kim to play a key part in exploring new future businesses and achieving sustainable growth. He had been credited with demonstrating his capabilities to explore such new future growth businesses as AI while serving as CEO of the internet search company.
 Unlike other conglomerates, no family feud has been embroiled in LG, which keeps the tradition of transferring management rights of the group to the eldest son.
Chairman Koo has begun to fulfill his duties without holding his inauguration ceremony. His office is on the 30th floor of the LG Twin Tower.
Chairman Koo, a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology in the United States, entered LG in 2006. He has accumulated experience in exploring future growth engines. He had stints with two IT firms for one year to experience the eco-system of U.S. Silicon Valley. Koo has been tasked with tapping future businesses of the group since he was promoted to managing director in 2015.
But Chairman Koo has a few challenges before him. The group’s mainstay businesses, including smartphone and display, are struggling to post good business performances. The group has yet to find new growth engines.
In his first personnel reshuffle since he took office, Chairman Koo appointed LG U+ Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo to be vice chairman of LG Corp., the holding company of the group, replacing Vice Chairman Ha Hyun-hoe, who was transferred to Kwon’s position. New LG Corp. Vice Chmn.. Kwon is charged with exploring new businesses under the stewardship of Chairman Koo.