Koo Bon-neung


Koo Bon-neung is a South Korean businessman. He is part of the Koo family of the chaebol LG and has served in various executive roles in the related company. He served as commissioner of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2011 to 2017.
He is among the richest people in South Korea. In April 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$1.15 billion and ranked him the 30th richest person in the country.

Biography

He was born on March 26, 1949, in Busan, South Korea. His grandfather was Koo In-hwoi, the founder of Lucky Goldstar Corporation, and his father Koo Cha-kyung. As a youth, he reportedly dreamed of becoming a baseball player; he gave up this dream at his father's insistence. He graduated from Kyungnam High School in 1967. He graduated from Korea University with a major in business administration in 1976.
He joined Lucky Goldstar in 1976. He served as head of its Chicago branch and overseas headquarters. In 1987, he became director of Goldstar. He became auditor of Heesung Metals in 1988, vice president of Sangnong Enterprise in 1990, and president of Heesung Metals in 1992. In 1996, Heesung Group split off of LG, and he became its head. By 2018, he owned 3.45% of LG Corporation stock.
He served as an advisor to the baseball team LG Twins. He became the 19th commissioner of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2011. He was unanimously reappointed to that role in 2015. He finished his term in 2017.
In 2019, he and some other members of his family were found not guilty of tax evasion.

Personal life

He has 5 other siblings. Koo Bon-moo, his oldest brother, was chairman of LG. Koo Bon-joon is his younger brother. Koo Bon-sik is another younger brother. He has an older sister, Koo Hwon-mi and Koo Mi-jeong.
He was married to Kang Yeong-hye but she died in 1996. They had a son, Koo Kwang-mo, and daughter, Koo Yeon-seo, together. He remarried to Cha Gyeong-suk in 1998.
The family reportedly maintains male-line primogeniture. His older brother, Koo Kwang-mo, lacked an heir after his son died in a 1994 accident. Thus, Koo Bon-neung's son Koo Kwang-mo was adopted by Koo Bon-moo in 2004.