Koo Bon-moo, the chairman of LG Corporation, the fourth largest industrial group in Korea, has passed away. He was 73 and had been ill for about a year. Koo served as chairman since 1995. Under his helm, the global sales of appliances, displays, smartphones and batteries skyrocketed. The company changed its brand identity from Lucky Goldstar to LG. It also divested its semiconductor business (now SK Hynix), and it established a telecom division.
Koo Kwang-mo (40), a senior official in LG Electronics and the adopted son of Koo Bon-moo, will take over the role of chairman. The Koo family and its charitable foundation are believed to control about 47% of the corporation.
