On September 3, 2026, Judge Lee Eun-joo of the Seoul Family Court’s Family Division 6, sitting alone, dismissed the plaintiff’s claim in Kim Young-sik’s lawsuit seeking judicial revocation of the adoption of LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Following this first-trial ruling, the legal adoptive parent-child relationship between Kim Young-sik and Chairman Koo currently remains in place.
Key Change
The confirmed change in this case is that the claim for adoption revocation was not accepted at the first trial. The court did not disclose the specific reasons for its ruling in court on the day of sentencing.
The publicly confirmed conclusion at this point is limited to “claim dismissed” and “legal relationship maintained.”
Current Status
Kim Young-sik’s side said after the sentencing that it would review the written judgment before announcing its position, including whether to appeal. Therefore, based on the currently available information alone, it is not possible to conclude that an appeal has been filed or that the ruling is final.
After the sentencing, Kim Young-sik said, in substance, that she believed she could no longer continue a mother-son relationship with Chairman Koo and would seek a way forward until the relationship was resolved.
Judicial revocation of an adoption may be sought based on the grounds stipulated in Article 905 of the Civil Act. That provision establishes, among other grounds, cases in which adoptive parents have received severely unfair treatment from their adopted child.
Impact
This adoption revocation lawsuit is a separate proceeding from the inheritance-property lawsuit involving Chairman Koo, Kim Young-sik, and her two daughters. The inheritance-property lawsuit has reportedly been expected to proceed through a separate appeal process.
Based solely on the currently confirmed information, it cannot be concluded that the first-trial ruling in this adoption revocation lawsuit has caused any immediate change in the operation of LG Group affiliates or in management decision-making.
Next Checkpoint
The first points to confirm are the results of Kim Young-sik’s side’s review of the written judgment and whether an appeal is filed. After that, it will be necessary to distinguish between any appellate proceedings in the adoption revocation lawsuit and the separate proceedings related to the inheritance-property lawsuit.