By Kim Hyun-bin
Koo Hyung-mo, the eldest son of LX Holdings Chairman Koo Bon-joon and senior vice president of the business planning division, has significantly expanded his presence at the firm over the past year, according to industry officials Wednesday.
At the end of last year, he received 11 percent of the chairman's company stocks, and was quickly promoted. The officials believe the management succession will speed up even more in the near future.
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| LX Group Chairman Koo Bon-joon |
According to LX Holdings, managing director Koo bought 51,543 treasury shares through three purchases this month at an average price of 8,249 won ($5.92) per share, increasing his stake in the company from 11.75 percent to 11.81 percent.
Koo was born in 1987 and majored in economics at Cornell University. He joined LG Electronics in 2014 after working for a foreign company. He was transferred to LX Group after the company was spun off from LG. He is the expected heir to the LX group as the pan-LG family adheres to the principle of succession favoring the eldest son.
"It has been a tradition for the LG household's eldest son to succeed (as chairman) and the recent development seems to bear that in mind," an industry official familiar with the matter said.
In December of last year, the chairman donated 8.5 million shares of LX Holdings to the managing director, which made him the second-largest shareholder.
The chairman's stake, the largest shareholder, was lowered from 40.04 percent to 20.37 percent. The difference between his stake and the former managing director's shareholding is 8.57 percentage points. The eldest daughter, Koo Yeon-je, owns 8.78 percent.
The stock price of LX Holdings has been on a downward slope since it peaked at 11,800 won in June of last year. It closed at 8,290 won on Sept. 19, down about 30 percent from its peak. Koo seems to have started buying stocks to strengthen his control.
"Our major shareholder purchased additional shares, but we are not aware of the intentions nor the background of the purchase," an LX Holdings official said.
He was promoted to managing director in March of this year, less than a year after joining LX Holdings as an executive manager. The chairman was tasked with selecting new businesses and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that are responsible for the future growth of the LX Group.
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