When Koo Bon-moo, chairperson of South Korean conglomerate LG, died in 2018, there wasn’t much question, at least publicly, of who would next preside over the company.
LG, a $10 billion corporate empire, is governed by the principle of male primogeniture. Succession was effectively settled 14 years earlier when Koo and his wife adopted their eldest nephew, Koo Kwang-mo. The adoption was necessitated by tragedy and tradition after the couple’s teenage son died in 1994, and their efforts for another male heir resulted in a second daughter.
The Koo family has controlled LG since it was founded in 1947, and the transition that elevated Koo Kwang-mo to the helm seemed seamless, burnishing the family’s reputation for harmony.