Koo Bon-moo
{{Short description|South Korean businessman (1945–2018)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Koo Bon-moo
| native_name = 구본무
| image = Koo Bon-Moo profile.jpg
| caption = Koo in 2013
| nationality = South Korean
| years_active = 1975{{ndash}}2018
| birth_date = {{birth date|1945|2|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = Jinju, Korea, Empire of Japan
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|5|20|1945|2|10|df=y}}
| death_place = Seoul, South Korea
| title = Chairman of LG Group {{small|(1995–2018)}}
| alma_mater = Yonsei University
Ashland University
Cleveland State University
| predecessor = Koo Cha-kyung (father)
(1925{{ndash}}2019)
| successor = Koo Kwang-mo (son)
}}
Koo Bon-moo ({{langx|ko|구본무}}; 10 February 1945 – 20 May 2018) was a South Korean business executive, who gained worldwide fame as the renamer and business executive of the LG Group.
Early life
Born on 10 February 1945 in Jinju, Korea, Empire of Japan (now South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea),{{cite news|title=Koo Bon-moo|url=http://www.theinvestor.co.kr/people_detail.php?mode=rich&field=uname&search=&soption=&pg=1&num=17&q=Koo+Bon-moo|accessdate=20 May 2018|work=The Investor}} Koo enrolled at Yonsei University.{{cite news|last1=Song|first1=Su-hyun|title=Koo Bon-moo, chairman of LG Group, dies at 73|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180520000077|accessdate=20 May 2018|work=The Korea Herald|date=20 May 2018}} He moved to Ohio and completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at Ashland University and Cleveland State University, respectively.{{cite news|title=LG Group leader puts talent first|url=http://mengnews.joins.com/view.aspx?aId=2931321|accessdate=20 May 2018|work=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=22 January 2011}}
Business career
Upon graduation from Cleveland State University, Koo returned to South Korea in 1975 and began working for Lucky Chemical, which later became LG Chem. He was transferred to GoldStar in 1980, and from 1983 to 1985, headed the company's Tokyo office.{{cite news|title=Koo Bon-moo brought LG into 21st century|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3048371|accessdate=21 May 2018|work=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=21 May 2018}} In 1995, Koo succeeded his father Koo Cha-kyung, the oldest son of LG's founder Koo In-hwoi as chairman of LG Group because of the Koo family's “male-only succession rule".{{cite web|url=http://www.theinvestor.co.kr/view.php?ud=20180710000687|last=Ji-yoon |first=Lee |date=July 10, 2018|title=LG's Koo Bon-joon prepares to depart|work=The Investor|accessdate=May 8, 2019}} Koo Bon-moo adopted his nephew Koo Kwang-mo in 2004, after losing his only son in 1994.{{cite news|last1=Kim|first1=Hooyeon|last2=Park|first2=Kyunghee|title=LG Chair Koo Bon-Moo Dies, Leaves Company to Adopted Son|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-20/lg-group-chair-koo-bon-moo-dies-leaves-company-to-adopted-son|accessdate=20 May 2018|publisher=Bloomberg|date=20 May 2018}} Starting in 2017, Koo Bon-moo sought continual treatment for a brain tumor. He eventually ended medical treatment, and died in Seoul on 20 May 2018, aged 73.{{cite news|title=LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo dies|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/05/121_249260.html|access-date=20 May 2018|work=The Korea Times|date=20 May 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Chung|first1=Jane|last2=Park|first2=Ju-min|title=South Korea's LG Group chairman dies from illness at 73|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-lgcorp-chairman-death/south-koreas-lg-group-chairman-koo-bon-moo-dies-yonhap-idUSKCN1IL036|accessdate=20 May 2018|agency=Reuters|date=20 May 2018}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{LG Corporation}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koo, Bon-moo}}
Category:South Korean billionaires
Category:South Korean business executives
Category:20th-century South Korean businesspeople
Category:21st-century South Korean businesspeople
Category:Yonsei University alumni
Category:Cleveland State University alumni
Category:Ashland University alumni
Category:Deaths from brain cancer in South Korea
Category:FC Seoul directors and chairmen