Koo In-hwoi (, 26 August 1906 – 31 December 1969) was a South Korean businessman and the founder of
LG Group
LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...
, one of the largest
chaebols
A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
in South Korea.
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Life
He is the 14th generation descendant of Gu Sa-min (구사민;具思閔) who is the brother of Gu Sa-maeng
Gu Sa-maeng (Hangul: 구사맹, Hanja: 具思孟; 1531–1604) was a 16th century Korean nobleman, military officer and minister. He was the father of Queen Inheon and the maternal grandfather of Injo of Joseon.
Life
In 1549 (4th year of King Mye ...
(구사맹;具思孟) and this makes Gu Sa-min the uncle of Queen Inheon
Queen Inheon of the Neungseong Gu clan (Hangul: 인헌왕후 구씨, Hanja: 仁獻王后 具氏; 23 May 1578 – 10 February 1626), also known as Lady Gyewoon (계운궁, 啓運宮), was the wife of Grand Internal Prince Jeongwon and the biologi ...
. Both of them were 12th generation descendants of Gu Seong-ro (구성로;具成老), the army who accompanied Yi Seong-gye
Taejo of Joseon (4 November 1335 – 27 June 1408), born Yi Seong-gye (), was the founder and first ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After ascending to the throne, he changed his name to Yi Dan (), and reigned from 1392 to 1398. He was ...
during Wihwado Retreat.
After completing his secondary education at the Central Normal Higher School, Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
in 1924, he soon made his start as a businessman.
He returned to his hometown in 1926, and quickly went on to head the village's business cooperative union while also trading miscellaneous goods. The following year, he became head of the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper's branch office in Jisu. In 1931, he opened a store along with younger brother Koo Chul-hwoi in Jinju, South Gyeongsang. Things didn't go as planned, and it suffered huge losses. But instead of taking that first defeat to heart, he tried again by getting loans while putting up the family's property as collateral. His fortune began to build as a result of this trial and error.
But it wasn't only business that interested him. As his businesses gradually expanded, in 1941 he made a sizeable contribution to the Korean provisional government in Shanghai through an independence fighter who visited him. He didn't hesitate, despite the risk, because his father had done the same a decade earlier, when he donated to the famous Korean independence fighter Kim Koo
Kim Gu (, ; August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949), also known by his pen name Baekbeom (백범; ), was a Korean statesman. He was the sixth, ninth, and president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea; a leader of the Korean indepen ...
. When Korea regained its independence, he started to focus on expanding his businesses by relocating to Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
and beginning to import charcoal. His company became the first in the country to receive trade approval from the U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
Ministry Government in Korea.
It was around this time that a relative of his wife, Huh Man-jung, visited him with his eldest son Huh Joon-gu, who had just returned from studying in Japan. The elder Huh asked if he could invest in his business in exchange for showing Huh's son the ropes of the business world. This was the beginning of the business partnership between the two families that lasted for decades. Not long after, he decided to accept his younger brother Koo Jung-hwoi's advice and started a cosmetics
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
manufacturing business. This was the moment that today's LG Group was born. The group's first truly successful business, Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Corporation, opened in 1947. It began selling a new face cream called Lucky, which quickly sold out despite its relatively high price thanks to its high-quality ingredients. But though sales were soaring, because of a big problem with the cream's lid, many people were returning the product.
His solution was to use plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
for the lid, even though the material wasn't common in Korea. In September 1952, he opened a plastics plant in Busan and started manufacturing plastic hairbrush
A hairbrush is a handle brush with rigid or soft spokes used in hair care for smoothing, styling, and detangling human hair, or for grooming an animal's fur. It can also be used for styling in combination with a curling iron or hair dryer.
A fl ...
es, which also became a huge hit. Within two months, he had to add additional manufacturing machines to meet explosive demand, and also started making new products like toothbrushes and washbowls. In 1953 he succeeded in establishing Lak Hui Industrial Co. Ltd. But his ambitions didn't stop there. In 1958, he started Goldstar, which later became LG Electronics. Goldstar immediately began developing a radio, and in 1959, Korea's first homemade radio started rolling off the production line. He then started producing phones, fans
Fan commonly refers to:
* Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling
** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling
* Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...
, air conditioners, TVs, and refrigerators. He also produced Lucky Sodo toothpaste
Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from the teeth, ...
, toothbrush
A toothbrush is an oral hygiene tool used to clean the teeth, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle which facilitates the cleaning of hard-to-reach ar ...
, soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...
and synthetic detergent for the first time in Korea. On the other hand, he was president of Busan International Newspaper and Federation of Korean Industries.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:In-hwoi, Koo
1906 births
1969 deaths
South Korean company founders