[비즈한국] The younger brother of Kim Sang-yeol, former chairman of Hoban Group, has won an inheritance portions (legally reserved share) lawsuit filed against Hoban Construction. The court ruled that the company must transfer 15,166 shares to the younger brother out of the 21.9 billion won worth of stock that the former chairman's mother donated to Hoban Construction shortly before her death. The court also rejected a 550 million won loan claim filed by the former chairman against his brother.
According to the legal community, the Seoul Central District Court’s 21st Civil Division (Presiding Judge Jung Yong-shin) ruled in favor of the plaintiff on the 16th of last month in the inheritance portions return lawsuit filed by the former chairman’s younger brother, identified as 'C', against Hoban Construction. The court stated, "The defendant is obligated to transfer 15,166 of its common shares to the plaintiff as a return of the inheritance portion and to complete the name change process on the shareholder register for those 15,166 shares."
Former Chairman Kim Sang-yeol is the second of six siblings. He has an older brother, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters. The party who filed this lawsuit is the third sibling, the younger brother 'C'. Following their mother’s death in February 2024, these six siblings became joint heirs, each holding a statutory inheritance share of one-sixth. The inheritance portion for the former chairman and his siblings is one-twelfth, half of their statutory share.
The subject of the dispute is the 182,000 shares of Hoban Construction held by the former chairman’s mother during her lifetime. According to the court ruling, Hoban Construction held a board meeting on January 19, 2024, to receive these shares as a donation. Three days after the board resolution, the mother transferred the entirety of the shares to the company. Based on the valuation of 120,752 won per share at the end of 2023, the total value amounted to 21.977 billion won. The mother passed away 38 days after the donation on February 29 of the same year.
In May 2024, the former chairman's brother 'C' filed a lawsuit against Hoban Construction and former Chairman Kim. The suit argued that the mother’s lifetime donation had left his own inheritance portion insufficient. However, 'C' withdrew his claim against former Chairman Kim personally in March of this year. Consequently, the trial focused solely on Hoban Construction’s liability for returning the donated shares.
The court factored the entire 21.977 billion won in shares received by Hoban Construction into the inheritance portion calculation. At the time the inheritance opened, the mother had no other separate inheritance assets or debts, and there was no evidence that 'C' had received prior gifts or actual inherited property. The court calculated the full 1.83142 billion won—one-twelfth of the 21.977 billion won—as the deficiency in 'C's inheritance portion.
During the trial, Hoban Construction argued that the contribution of founder Kim Sang-yeol to maintaining or increasing the mother’s assets should be reflected in the inheritance calculation. However, the court drew a line, noting that Hoban Construction is a separate legal entity from the former chairman. It concluded that the former chairman’s contribution could not be attributed to the company, and there was no evidence that Hoban Construction itself had specifically contributed to the maintenance or growth of the mother's assets.
Hoban Construction also argued that 'C' had received financial support during his mother’s lifetime, which should be considered a "special benefit" and deducted from his inheritance portion. While it was confirmed that the former chairman sent 5 million won per month to his mother's account from 2014 to 2022 and that the mother withdrew significant amounts in cash, the court did not accept this argument, stating there was no evidence to prove that the withdrawn funds were passed on to 'C'.
Meanwhile, in the same trial, the 550 million won loan claim filed by former Chairman Kim against his brother 'C' was dismissed. The former chairman claimed that the money was a loan provided to pay a settlement on 'C's behalf when he was under investigation for fraud in 2020. The court acknowledged that the former chairman paid the settlement, but ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove it was a loan.
Hoban Construction filed an appeal against the first-instance ruling on the 4th. Currently, other inheritance portion lawsuits filed by the former chairman’s other siblings against Hoban Construction are also underway.