LG Group Chairman's stepmother loses adoption annulment lawsuit

The Seoul Family Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Kim Young-shik, the widow of the late LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, seeking to annul her legal adoption of her son, current LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

Kim filed the legal annulment request in November 2024, citing Civil Act Article 905, which allows for annulment if adoptive parents receive unfair treatment from the adoptee. This legal action follows an ongoing inheritance dispute in which Kim and her two daughters sought to redistribute the late Chairman Koo's estate. In a previous ruling in February, the Seoul Western District Court dismissed the inheritance claim, stating that the existing inheritance agreement was valid.

Following the court's decision to dismiss the annulment request, Kim expressed her intention to appeal, stating that she no longer believes a mother-son relationship can be maintained between her and Koo Kwang-mo. The court did not disclose the specific reasoning behind its decision to dismiss the case.