Vice Chairman Gu Ji-eun Sends Email to All Employees Before Father's Passing... "A Reflective Parents' Day"

Chairman Koo Ja-hak of Ourhome Passes Away
Before Passing, Vice Chairman Koo Ji-eun Emails All Employees
"A Passionate Giant in Management... Roamed the Field Personally Even at 70"

Late Gu Ja-hak, Chairman of Ourhome, who attended the vision declaration ceremony in 2009. Photo by Ourhome

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Following the passing of the late Gu Ja-hak, chairman of Ourhome, on the 12th due to old age, it has been reported that his youngest daughter, Vice Chairwoman Gu Ji-eun, sent an email to all employees recalling her late father before his passing.

According to Ourhome on the 12th, Vice Chairwoman Gu sent an encouraging email to all employees on the 9th in celebration of Parents' Day. In an email titled "Parents' Day Sabugok," Gu stated, "Ourhome has grown through the sweat and hard work of all employees and the values and philosophy of the chairman embedded throughout the field. The chairman cherished the 10,000 employees like family, making this their place of life."

Gu reminisced, "My father, Chairman Gu Ja-hak, was a manager who laid the foundation for core businesses at LG Group, ranging from chemicals, electronics, semiconductors, construction, to cosmetics. Even at the age of 70, he foresaw and emphasized the role of logistics, personally visiting logistics center sites across the country."

She continued, "(Chairman Gu) was a towering business leader with insight to read the times and passionate execution power, and his fresh proposals and enthusiasm from that time are still alive and breathing today through more than ten logistics centers, unrivaled home meal replacement (HMR) products, and the 'Haengbokhan Matnam' brand."

Gu recalled, "All decisions were always made after consulting with employees on site, and when the response from the field was positive, he did not hesitate to implement them. We were all one team under the name Ourhome, feeling tremendous cohesion and pride."

She added, "Because such organizational potential was inherent, when I returned in early June last year, despite the difficult business environment, I believe we were able to turn a deficit into a surplus within a year together with all of you."

Late Koo Ja-hak, Chairman of Ourhome, chatting with employees. Photo by Ourhome

Gu said, "Last year, I promised you that I would quickly revive Ourhome's tradition and philosophy of fairness and transparency, discover future growth engines, and grow it into a global company. I am also doing my best to keep the promise of creating a good company where Ourhome members can fully demonstrate their capabilities and those who quietly fulfill their responsibilities are respected."

She further emphasized, "Together with you, I will quickly stabilize the current chaotic situation, strengthen the company's core competitiveness, discover new growth engines, and focus on securing a future vision. Afterwards, we will also improve the company's governance through various measures."

Gu Ja-hak, chairman of Ourhome, passed away at 5:20 a.m. on the day at the age of 92 due to old age. Born in 1930 as the third son of the late Gu In-hoi, founder of LG Group, he graduated from the Naval Academy and retired as a major. In 1957, he married Lee Sook-hee, the third daughter of the late Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung Group. The union of the two major conglomerate families attracted attention, and he worked at Samsung Group for over ten years, serving as director of Cheil Jedang and president of Hotel Shilla. However, in 1969, when Samsung announced its entry into the electronics industry, creating a competitive structure with LG (then Geumseong), Gu returned to LG Group. He then served as CEO of Lucky, president of Geumseong, vice chairman of Lucky-Goldstar Group, chairman of LG Semiconductors, chairman of LG Engineering, and chairman of LG Construction, playing an active role as a professional manager at LG Group. In 2000, he established Ourhome, independent from the group along with LG Distribution's food service division.

Surviving family members include his wife Lee Sook-hee, son Bon-seong (former vice chairman of Ourhome), and daughters Mi-hyun, Myung-jin, and Ji-eun (vice chairwoman of Ourhome). To honor the late founder of Ourhome, memorial altars will be set up at company bases, and the funeral will be held as a group funeral. The funeral committee chairman is Kang Yoo-sik, advisor to LG Group.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.