LG Corp. appoints group chairman's adopted son as director

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- LG Corp., the holding firm of the chemical-to-electronics conglomerate LG Group, on Thursday appointed the adopted son of the group's ailing chairman as a member of the company's board.

On Thursday morning, LG Corp. held a board meeting to name Koo Kwang-mo, the 40-year-old only son of LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, to the position. The appointment has to be approved at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on June 29, the company said in a statement.

"The company's board decided to appoint (Koo Kwang-mo) as a new member as Chairman Koo Bon-moo has played a limited role in making key management decisions due to his poor health," it said.

LG said the move is also part of the group's preemptive efforts to smoothly pass the management control to the son from the ailing father.

The chairman underwent several surgeries in 2017 and this year, and was recently admitted to Seoul National University Hospital after his health took a turn for the worse.

Koo Kwang-mo joined the finance division of LG Electronics Co. in 2006 and from this year has headed the information display business, a potential growth driver, LG said.

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