"Focusing on What Others Can't Do" - Gu Ja-hak, Chairman of Ourhome, Passes Away

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] Koo Ja-hak, chairman of Ourhome, passed away at around 5:20 a.m. on the 12th due to old age. He was 92 years old.

Chairman Koo was born in 1930 as the third son of the late Koo In-hoe, 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. At the time, the union of two major conglomerate families attracted much attention. Afterwards, Chairman Koo worked at Samsung Group for over ten years, serving as a director of Cheil Jedang and president of Hotel Shilla.

However, in 1969, when Samsung announced its entry into the electronics industry, creating a competitive landscape with LG (then Geumseong), Chairman Koo returned to LG Group. He then served as CEO of Lucky, president of Geumseong, vice chairman of Lucky-Gumseong Group, chairman of LG Semiconductors, chairman of LG Engineering, and chairman of LG Construction, playing an active role as a professional manager within LG Group.

Chairman Koo, who valued technological prowess, emphasized, "We must focus on what others do not do or cannot do." Therefore, the path he walked was always accompanied by the adjective ‘first.’ Lucky developed Perio toothpaste in 1981 to prevent gum disease, which did not exist at the time. In 1983, it produced Korea’s first plastic polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), marking a turning point in the Korean chemical industry. In 1989, Geumseong Electron developed the world’s first Rambus DRAM semiconductor, and in 1995, LG Engineering secured the first Japanese plant project in the domestic industry. He was always at the start and center of major businesses that became the foundation of LG.

Chairman Koo Ja-hak delivering a New Year's address to executives and employees at the Lucky Group's 1981 kickoff ceremony.

In 2000, he established Ourhome, independent from the group along with LG Distribution’s food service division. During his 21 years as chairman, Ourhome grew into one of Korea’s leading group catering and food distribution companies by signing exclusive contracts with LG and LS groups.

Chairman Koo judged that the group catering business required research and development (R&D) infrastructure as much as the advanced industries he had been involved in, such as chemicals and electronics. Ourhome established the first food research institute in the group catering industry in 2000. Since its establishment, the Ourhome Food Research Institute has developed over 15,000 recipes, and currently, about 100 researchers develop approximately 300 new menu items annually.

He also actively pursued the establishment of production and logistics infrastructure. Chairman Koo foresaw in the early 2000s that production and logistics systems would become core competencies in the future food service industry and traveled nationwide to find sites for centers. Before the cold chain system emerged as a key logistics element, Ourhome quickly built a fresh logistics system. As a result, Ourhome currently operates the largest number of production facilities (9) and logistics centers (14) in the industry.

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 chairpersons 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 will be Kang Yoo-sik, advisor to LG Group.