2020 First On-Site Management by Koo Kwang-mo: 'Praise of Design' (Comprehensive)

Visit LG Electronics Design Management Center
"The Process of Completing Customer Experience and Emotion"
Inspection of Smart Door and OLED TV
Third Generation Driving 'Design Management'

Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group, visited the LG Electronics Design Management Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 17th to examine the customer convenience design of the clothing care device installed inside the future-type connected car.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] "Design is the entire process that completes customer experience and emotion."

Gu Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group, who embarked on his first on-site management this year, visited the 'Design Management Center,' responsible for LG Electronics' design research and development, to assess the design competitiveness of major products scheduled for release this year and discuss future design strategies. Chairman Gu's visit to the Design Management Center as his first on-site management move this year is deeply related to the design management philosophy of the LG family, which has been passed down for three generations.

According to LG on the 18th, Chairman Gu visited the Design Management Center within LG Electronics' Seocho R&D Campus the previous day, checked the design elements of smart doors, wall-mounted OLED TVs under review for release this year, as well as automotive parts such as connected cars and digital cockpits that received favorable reviews at the 'CES2020 Exhibition' earlier this year, and then discussed the group's future design strategy directions.

The Design Management Center visited by Chairman Gu is a key base responsible for LG Electronics' customer value-centered design research and development. Chairman Gu decided on this visit to examine the design competitiveness of products that can impress customers and to hear voices from the field.

On that day, Chairman Gu said, "Design is the first moment when customers get their first impression of our products and feel the value of wanting to buy them," adding, "Throughout the time customers use the product, it is design that makes them marvel at the delicate consideration and convenience and makes the customer stand out."

He especially emphasized LG Electronics' design direction should captivate customers' eyes, excite their hearts, and make them look forward to the next product. To this end, he urged that the design organization and working methods should be open and allow creativity and diversity to be respected. He also stressed the importance of various collaborations and convergence to create customer-emotional designs. This means looking from the customer's perspective and breaking away from existing conventions.

Furthermore, Chairman Gu told LG Electronics' design leaders, "I hope you steadily build designs that offer new customer experiences and elevate the dignity of customer emotion," promising full support for design development.

Chairman Gu's choice of 'design management' as his first move this year is evidence of how much LG Group values 'design management.' LG Group considers design a key method to realize customer value and has been driving 'design management' for three generations.

The late Honorary Chairman Gu Ja-kyung established the Geumseongsa (now LG Electronics) Design Research Lab in 1974 to foster the industrial design field, one of the important elements of product development. At that time, among domestic large corporations, he boldly spared no support for training in design advanced countries such as Japan.

The design fostering spirit of Honorary Chairman Gu was carried on by the late Chairman Gu Bon-moo of LG Group. Chairman Gu Bon-moo famously emphasized at the 2012 LG Electronics Mold Technology Center completion ceremony, "Design must be done even in unseen places." He consistently insisted on the design belief that "the product's dignity depends on the finishing touches."

LG Electronics' design spirit shines by sweeping prestigious global design awards. Last year, the company won 19 main awards, the most among domestic companies, at Japan's most prestigious design award, the 'Good Design Award 2019.'

At the event, No Chang-ho, head of the Design Management Center, explained the company's design strategy direction, including interpreting core values such as customers' pain points design-wise and reflecting them in products, as well as ensuring customer value-based design continues through to final mass production.

An LG official said, "Taking this visit to the Design Management Center as an opportunity, we plan to sequentially visit future preparation sites for domestic and international customer touchpoints to shift the atmosphere after COVID-19 and check ways to secure competitiveness."

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