Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of the LG Group, has emerged victorious in a first-instance ruling related to an inheritance recovery lawsuit initiated by his mother Kim Young-sik, and sisters Goo Yeon-kyung, the head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and Goo Yeon-soo. The lawsuit, which began in February 2023, concluded after three years with the Seoul Western District Court dismissing the plaintiffs' claims regarding the inheritance distribution agreement signed in 2018. The court ruled that the agreement was valid and that there was insufficient evidence of deceit on the part of the LG financial management team during the negotiation process, which the plaintiffs argued led them to mistakenly agree to the inheritance terms.

In 2018, based on the inheritance distribution agreement, the three women received assets worth approximately 500 billion KRW, including an 11.28% stake in LG Corp, totaling around 2 trillion KRW. Guided by the principle of 'primogeniture succession,' Koo Kwang-mo, who was adopted, inherited a smaller share of 8.76% and ascended to the chairman position. However, in 2022, the three women contended that they were misled into agreeing to this distribution, and sought a reassessment of the inheritance based on civil law proportions, which would grant them a larger share.

While the court ruling favored Koo Kwang-mo, the possibility of an appeal from the plaintiffs could prolong this legal dispute. Analysts are now questioning the long-standing 'primogeniture' principle of the LG family, which has persisted for 76 years, with experts suggesting that changes might be necessary for family businesses to adapt to modern circumstances.