Summary
Koo Bon-woong, CEO of Formation Group, was born in 1979. He is the only son of the late Koo Ja-hong, Chairman of LS Nikko Copper, and the eldest grandson of Koo Tae-hwoi, Honorary Chairman of LS Cable & System. Although he was expected to follow the traditional principle of eldest son succession in managing the LS Group, he chose an independent path by founding the venture capital firm Formation Group and has been leading it for over a decade. Recently, he sold his shares in LS Corp. and Yesco Holdings, which has led to speculation that his involvement in the management of the group is unlikely.
Koo Bon-woong studied economics and business at Stanford University in the United States and decided to stay there to start his business. Formation Group was co-founded in 2011 by Koo along with Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of IT company Palantir, and venture capitalist Jim Kim. Based in Silicon Valley, the company has expanded its presence to South Korea, Singapore, and China.
