President Koo Ja-hak
Ourhome chairman Koo Ja-hak passed away due to old age, the bereaved family said on the 12th. He died at the age of 92.
Koo was born in 1930 as the third son of the late LG Group founder Koo In-hoe. After graduating from Jinju High School, he entered the Naval Academy and was discharged as a major in 1959. During his military service, he participated in the Korean War and was awarded a number of medals, including the Chungmu Military Order, Hwarang Military Service Medal, and Patriotic Hero Medal. He then studied in the United States, graduating from Defiance College, Department of Commerce, and obtained an honorary doctorate in Economics from Chungbuk National University.
In 1957, he married Lee Sook-hee, the third daughter of the late Samsung founder Lee Byung-cheol. At that time, the union of two large conglomerates created a topic of discussion. After that, Koo served as a director of CheilJedang and president of Hotel Shilla for about 10 years, working at the Samsung Group.
However, as Samsung announced its entry into the electronics industry in 1969 and a competitive structure was formed with LG (then Goldstar), Chairman Koo returned to the LG Group.
Since then, he has served as a professional manager in the LG group, serving as Lucky CEO, Goldstar President, Lucky Goldstar Group Vice Chairman, LG Semiconductor Chairman, LG Engineering Chairman, LG Engineering & Construction Chairman, etc.
In 2000, we established Our Home together with LG Distribution’s food service division independently from the group. During his 21 years as chairman, Our Home has grown into one of Korea’s leading group catering and food materials distribution companies by signing private contracts with LG and LS groups.
In 2016, the eldest son, Bon-seong Koo, then vice chairman, was appointed as the CEO and a succession structure was established. However, Vice Chairman Koo was handed over to trial on charges of damaging an opponent’s vehicle in retaliatory driving last year, and was sentenced to six months in prison and two years of probation, and was eventually fired from the company.
Currently, former Vice Chairman Koo holds a 38.6% stake in Our Home, and the three sisters Mihyeon, Myeongjin, and Jieun hold a combined 59.6% stake.
It is known that Koo, who maintained the title of chairman until recently, did not actually participate in management due to his old age.
Survivors include his wife Lee Sook-hee, son Bon-seong (former Vice Chairman of Ourhome), and daughters Mi-hyeon, Myeong-jin, and Ji-eun (ourhome vice-chairman).
