The LG family lost the first round of a lawsuit attempting to overturn a portion of inheritance taxes.
The 5th administration division of the Seoul Administrative Court under Judge Kim Sun-yeol ruled on Apri 4 that “all claims are dismissed” in a lawsuit filed by LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo together with his family members against the chief of the National Tax Service’s Yongsan district office on Apr 4.
Chairman Koo Kwang-mo filed a lawsuit in September 2022 along with his mother Kim Young-sik and two sisters, LG Welfare Foundation CEO Koo Yeon-kyung and Koo Yeon-soo over excessive inheritance tax.
The heir inherited 8.76% of the 11.28% shares from the late Chairman Koo Bon-moo, who passed away in May 2018. The tax authorities imposed an inheritance tax of about 72 billion won (about $534.12 million) on him. The combined taxes imposed on the entire LG family were around 990 billion won (about $734.42 million) for their inheritance.
The Chaebol family reportedly disagreed with the tax authorities over the value of their 1.12 percent stake in unlisted LG CNS, seeking a recalculation of the value through the lawsuit. If they win the suit, they could receive 1 billion won from the taxes already paid back.
