Court rules against LG Chairman Koo in inheritance tax lawsuit

Late former LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo, left, and current LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo [LG]

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and his family lost a lawsuit they had filed against Korea’s tax administrative agency disputing a large inheritance tax amount.

The Seoul Administrative Court on Thursday ruled against Koo, his mother and two sisters without elaborating on the reasoning behind the decision.

The family brought the case against the chief of the National Tax Service’s Yongsan district office in central Seoul in 2022, claiming the inheritance tax imposed following the death of former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo was excessive and demanding it be reduced.

They requested a recalculation of their inherited 1.12 percent stake in LG CNS, an unlisted IT service management firm.

The family would have recouped 1 billion won ($740,000) of the taxes paid had the court ruled in their favor.

The late chairman, who died in 2018, left assets worth around 2 trillion won, including an 11.28 percent stake in LG Corp.

Koo Kwang-mo, the nephew-turned adopted son of Koo Bon-moo, inherited 8.76 percent of the stake. He now holds a 15.95 percent.

His two sisters were given shares of 2.01 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively, along with personal assets of the late chairman.

Koo's sisters and mother received an inheritance worth some 500 billion won.

Koo currently faces a separate lawsuit from his mother and sisters, who are demanding a redistribution of the inheritance.

The women were told they would receive cash, investments and the family’s home in Seoul, they told the New York Times during an interview last year.

They also said that Koo Kwang-mo would pay hundreds of millions of dollars in inheritance tax.

The LG family has been ordered to pay 990 billion won in inheritance tax.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]