[Related Article / The Korean Economic Daily] How Should a Successor's Contribution to Business Growth Be Valued? [Law & Business - Seo & Lee]

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." The line comes from Shakespeare's Henry IV. In Korea, a more familiar rendering is, "He who seeks to wear the crown must bear its weight." Both convey the same idea: honor and power come with corresponding responsibility and sacrifice.

Business succession is no different. The world tends to see first the crown that a successor has inherited. What is less visible are the years of effort spent bearing its weight and growing the business.

Is it fair to value shares transferred by a founder to a successor who has managed the company for years and increased its enterprise value by the same standard as assets received by the founder's other children? If the transfer of shares as part of a succession plan is intended, at least in part, to reward the successor for his or her contribution to the business, determining how that contribution should be valued becomes a central legal issue in business succession.