【社会】韩国顶级财阀家族“内斗”：LG的继承和遗产之争_风闻

【来源龙腾网】

正文原创翻译：

SEOUL, South Korea — When Koo Bon-moo, chairperson of South Korean conglomerate LG, died in 2018, there wasn’t much question, at least publicly, of who would next preside over the company.

韩国首尔——当韩国企业集团LG的董事长具本茂于2018年去世时，至少在公开场合，该公司的下一任掌门人选没有太多疑问。

LG, a $10 billion corporate empire, is governed by the principle of male primogeniture. Succession was effectively settled 14 years earlier when Koo and his wife adopted their eldest nephew, Koo Kwang-mo. The adoption was necessitated by tragedy and tradition after the couple’s teenage son died in 1994, and their efforts for another male heir resulted in a second daughter.

LG是一个价值100亿美元的企业帝国，遵循长子继承的原则。14年前，具本茂夫妇收养了他们的长侄具光谟，继承问题就得到了有效解决。1994年，这对夫妇十几岁的儿子去世，由于这个悲剧以及传统，他们只得收养这个孩子。后来他们也想再生一个男性继承人，结果有了第二个女儿。

The Koo family has controlled LG since it was founded in 1947, and the transition that elevated Kwang-mo to the helm seemed seamless, burnishing the family’s reputation for harmony.

自1947年LG成立以来，具氏家族一直控制着该公司，将具光谟擢升为掌门人这一过渡似乎是天衣无缝的，进一步提升了该家族和睦的声誉。

It wasn’t.

但事实并非如此。

The former chairperson died, at age 73, without a will. What followed was a power struggle within the Koo family and LG over the inheritance of his estimated $1.5 billion fortune — including his 11% stake in the company. Now, five years later, the former chairperson’s widow and two daughters are suing Koo Kwang-mo, accusing him and other LG executives of deception to steal their rightful inheritance to bolster his claim to the company.

具本茂前会长去世时享年73岁，没有留下遗嘱。接下来，具氏家族和LG内部围绕他的15亿美元财产（包括他持有的LG11%的股份）的继承权展开了权力斗争。现在，五年过去了，这位前会长的遗孀和两个女儿正在起诉具光谟，指控他和LG的其他高管为加强他对公司的所有权，欺诈、窃取她们的合法遗产。

The women said they want their full inheritance, but they are not seeking control of LG.

她们表示，她们希望得到全部遗产，但她们并不寻求对LG的控制权。

The lawsuit not only pits the matriarch of one of South Korea’s wealthiest families and her daughters against the adopted male heir, who is now one of the country’s most influential business figures. It also challenges LG’s patriarchal tradition that allows the oldest male successor to seize power and wealth, leaving female family members as afterthoughts in the company.

这起诉讼不仅是韩国最富有家族之一的女族长及其女儿们与被收养的男性继承人对抗（后者现在是韩国最具影响力的商界人物之一），还挑战了LG的父权传统——让最年长的男性继承人把握权力和财富，让女性家族成员在公司中处于次要地位。

Omnipresent in South Korea, LG is a holding company comprising 11 publicly traded businesses, including LG Chem, the country’s largest materials and chemicals firm, and LG Electronics, whose televisions, dishwashers and other home appliances are popular worldwide.

LG是一家控股公司，在韩国无所不在，旗下有11家上市公司，包括韩国最大的材料和化学品公司LG化学和LG电子，其电视、洗碗机和其他家用电器在全球都很受欢迎。

In a legal filing, the former chairperson’s widow, Kim Young-shik, and her daughters, Koo Yeon-kyung and Koo Yeon-sue, accused LG executives of colluding with Koo Kwang-mo and his biological father to swindle them.

在一份法律文件中，前会长具本茂的遗孀金英植和女儿具延京（音）及具延苏（音）指控LG高管与具光谟及其生父勾结，诈骗她们。

In transcxts of secretly recorded conversations filed in the legal documents, Koo Kwang-mo pleads with his adopted mother not to challenge the inheritance because it will hurt LG’s image and his leadership of the company, potentially tarnishing his reputation among the Korean public.

在作为文件提交给法庭的秘密录音的文字谈话记录中，具光谟恳求养母不要质疑他的继承，因为这会损害LG的形象和他对公司的领导，可能会损害他在韩国公众中的声誉。

“The scariest thing is the public opinion,” he said, according to the transcxt. “How are they going to look at this situation? ‘Someone got greedy,’ or that I didn’t come visit and do a good job of caring for my mother.”

“最可怕的是公众舆论，”他说。“他们会怎么看待这种事？‘有人贪心了’，或者我没有来看望母亲，没有好好照顾母亲。”

In addition, the women accused Ha Beom-jong, the former chairperson’s aide and now LG’s president, of misleading them to believe that there was a will that left everything to Koo Kwang-mo. Without a will, South Korean law states, the widow would be entitled to inherit one-third of the estate with the remainder divided equally between the two daughters and Kwang-mo.

此外，她们还指控说，前会长助理、现LG总裁河范钟（音）误导她们，让她们以为有份遗嘱要把一切都留给具光谟。韩国法律规定，如果没有遗嘱，寡妇有权继承三分之一的遗产，其余的遗产由两个女儿和具光谟平均分配。

Instead, the women said they were duped into an agreement in which roughly 75% of the estate went to Kwang-mo. The lawsuit, filed in Seoul Western District Court, seeks to redistribute the estate according to the legal standard.

她们说自己被骗达成了一项协议，其中约75%的遗产归具光谟所有。在首尔西区法院提起的诉讼要求根据法律标准重新分配遗产。

“We cannot stand having our rights, protected under the constitution and the law, be disregarded just because we are women,” the women said in a notice filed with the lawsuit.

“我们不能忍受仅仅因为我们是女性，就无视我们受宪法和法律保护的权利，”她们在与诉讼一起提交的告知书中说。

ulchon LLC, a law firm representing Kwang-mo, said in a statement that the inheritance is “a legally settled matter” that was resolved four years ago after extensive negotiations and that there have been about 10 rounds of consultations and several revisions since the chairperson’s death. It also noted Kim had signed a document agreeing that Kwang-mo should receive the LG shares and assets related to controlling the company.

代表具光谟的律所Yulchon LLC在声明中表示，遗产是“法律上已经解决的问题”，是在四年前经过广泛谈判后解决的，自具本茂去世以来，已经进行了大约10轮磋商，并进行了几次修改。它还表示，金英植签署了同意具光谟接受LG股份和LG控股相关资产的文件。

In 2017, Bon-moo was 72 and still seemed healthy. He went to the doctor because his face appeared slightly lopsided, and he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

2017年，具本茂已经72岁，但看起来仍然健康。他因为脸部出现轻微歪斜而就医，被诊断出患有胶质母细胞瘤，这是一种侵袭性脑癌。

Bon-moo’s brain surgery in April 2017 went smoothly, but after a second operation in December, he suffered a seizure that left him unable to speak. He died in May 2018.

2017年4月，具本茂的脑部手术进行得很顺利，但在12月的第二次手术后，癫痫发作，无法说话。他于2018年5月去世。

His death raised a possible succession battle. During his illness, the company was being run by one of his other brothers, Koo Bon-joon. Koo Kwang-mo, who was 40 at the time, had been an LG executive for a decade but had accrued little management experience.

他的死在当时引发了一场可能的继任之争。在他生病期间，该公司由他的另一个兄弟具本俊经营，后者当时40岁，在LG担任高管已有10年，但没有多少管理经验。

In the blur of the funeral proceedings, his wife and daughters claim, Kwang-mo’s biological father and LG officials started angling for control.

他的妻子和女儿们声称，在恍惚混乱的后事处理期间，具光谟的生父和LG高层开始夺取控制权。

Without notifying them, the women say, Kwang-mo’s biological father and LG officials enlisted a locksmith to help them pry open the former chairperson’s safes at the company office and a vacation home.

她们表示，在未告知她们的情况下，具光谟的生父和LG高层找一名锁匠强行打开了具本茂在公司办公室和一处度假屋的保险箱。

Then Ha, who had been Bon-moo’s aide, and another employee came to the family’s stately home in Seoul and told them that the senior Koo had left a will, according to the women in interviews with The New York Times. His wishes, they recalled the employees telling them, were that all his shares and the chairmanship go to his adopted son, in keeping with family custom since LG’s founding. Ha has denied in court testimony that he ever told the family there was a will.

她们在接受《纽约时报》采访时称，曾担任具本茂助手的河宗范随后与另一名员工来到她们位于首尔的豪宅，告诉她们具本茂留下了一份遗嘱。她们回忆称，此二人告诉她们，具本茂的遗愿是按照LG创立以来的家族规矩，让养子继承他的所有股份和会长职位。在法庭证词中，河宗范否认曾告知具本茂家属遗嘱之事。

“The person my father trusted the most and supposedly knew everything came to us and said there was a will, and based on that, it all goes to Kwang-mo,” Koo Yeon-kyung, the eldest daughter, 45, said in an interview.

“我父亲最信任的那个人本来应该了解所有情况，结果他来对我们说，（父亲）留下了遗嘱，根据这份遗嘱，所有财产都归具光谟所有，”45岁的大女儿具延京在采访中表示。

Kim, 71, said she was told she needed to forgo inheriting any of her husband’s shares to ensure Kwang-mo’s succession and prevent any challenge from her late husband’s brother, Bon-joon. She said she went along with it, but she questioned Ha about whether Bon-moo truly wanted his daughters to receive no shares. She said Kwang-mo eventually agreed to give roughly one-fifth of Bon-moo’s shares, worth about $270 million by current share prices, to his two sisters.

71岁的金英植被告知，她必须放弃继承丈夫的所有股份，以确保具光谟拥有继承权，并防范已故丈夫的弟弟具本俊提出任何异议。她说自己配合了这一安排，但也质问了河宗范，具本茂是否真的不希望女儿们获得股份。她说，具光谟最后同意将具本茂所持股份的约五分之一（按当前股价计算价值约2.7亿美元）分给这两姐妹。

The women said that they were told that they would receive the former chairperson’s cash, other investments and the family’s home in Seoul, and that Kwang-mo would pay hundreds of millions of dollars in inheritance tax. South Korea levies a tax of at least 50% on inherited assets over $2.3 million.

她们说，自己还被告知将获得具本茂持有的现金和其他投资，以及家族在首尔的住处，而具光谟将缴纳数亿美元的遗产税。韩国对超过230万美元的财产继承至少要收50%的税。

The women said they continued living their lives normally. Yeon-kyung said she remembered her father’s wishes that she get involved in running LG’s charitable foundations and started working at one of them as an adviser in 2021.

她们说她们后来继续照常生活。具延京表示，她还记得父亲曾希望她能参与LG慈善基金会的运营，她也从2021年开始在其中一家基金会担任顾问。

Around that time, Yeon-kyung said, she felt something was amiss when she applied for a store credit card to get a discount on a gift for a friend but was rejected because she had too many loans. She said that came as a surprise to her.

具延京说，大约在那个时候她就感觉到有点不对劲，因为她为了给朋友买礼物打折申请了商店信用卡但遭到拒绝，理由是贷款太多。她说这让她十分意外。

原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Realizing how little she, her sister and her mother knew about their own finances, she started going from bank to bank to pull years’ worth of statements. There were large inheritance tax payments and loans against their LG shares that didn’t comport with their understanding that Kwang-mo alone would shoulder the tax.

她意识到她与妹妹还有母亲对自身财务状况知之甚少，于是开始从各家银行调取多年来的对账单。账上有大笔遗产税支出以及用LG股份抵押贷款的记录，这不符合她们对具光谟一人承担遗产税的认知。

As the women pieced together the state of their finances, they said, they realized that Kwang-mo had also received more cash and investment assets than they thought they had agreed to.

她们说，当把自身财务状况拼凑到一起，才发现具光谟获得了比约定更多的现金和投资资产。

Yeon-kyung said she and her mother began secretly recording conversations with Kwang-mo and Ha in 2022. Throughout the year, the exchanges grew tense, and at times, emotional, according to excerpts from transcxts, which the plaintiffs have cited as evidence that they were misled by the men now running LG.

具延京说，她和母亲从2022年开始对她们与具光谟和河宗范的对话进行秘密录音。录音的文字摘录显示，在这一年间，双方的交流愈发紧张，有时还很意气用事，原告也以此为证据，声称自己受到了现今LG掌管者的误导。

In one recording from November 2022, Kim complained to Kwang-mo that they were treated by the finance staff as if they could be ignored because they were women.

在2022年11月的一段录音中，金英植向具光谟抱怨，集团财务似乎觉得因为她们是女性就可以被忽视怠慢一样。

“All this time has passed, and now that we look into it, so much was done without our knowledge,” she said, according to a transcxt.

“已经过去了这么久，现在回头再看，有太多事都把我们蒙在鼓里了，”根据转录文件，她当时这样说。

“The ‘our’ you mention doesn’t include me, right?” Kwang-mo asked in return.

“你说的‘我们’不包括我，对吧？”具光谟反问道。

原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Kwang-mo sent his mother a letter in January clarifying the unexplained withdrawals from her accounts. He said that, unbeknown to him, “the employees” were short on funds to pay the inheritance tax under his name, so they paid it under her name using her assets, but that they had planned to pay her back. Still, he asked her not to assert her inheritance rights.

今年1月，具光谟给他的母亲写了一份信，澄清了从其账户中无故提款的事情。他说自己并不知道“手下员工”没有足够的资金以他的名义缴纳遗产税，于是以她的名义动用了她的资产，但他们已经准备把钱还给她。然而，具光谟还是请求她不要主张自己的继承权。

“If the elders each asserted their rights under the inheritance law, LG’s management control would not have been passed down to the 4th generation as it is now,” he wrote in the letter.

“如果长辈们都根据继承法主张各自的继承权，那LG的经营权就不会像现在这样传到第四代人手上了，”他在信中写道。

原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

A month later, the women filed suit.

一个月后，这些女性提起了诉讼。