[5 Years of Koo Kwang-mo's Leadership] LG's Future Growth Engines: 'AI, Bio, and Cleantech'

②Focused Development of ABC Business... 7 Trillion Investment Planned
Emphasis on 'Customer Value' in New Business Areas

On the 29th, marking the 5th anniversary of his inauguration, Koo Kwang-mo, CEO of LG Group, is focusing on growing the ABC businesses, including artificial intelligence (AI), bio, and cleantech, as future growth engines. From the perspective of 'customer value,' he has embarked on sowing the seeds that will bear fruit in the long term. In this process, he also announced a large-scale investment plan approaching 7 trillion won.

In September 2018, during his first year in office, Koo emphasized the role of the holding company in advancing the business portfolio and fostering future growth engines at a president-level workshop. He believed that even if immediate profits are not realized, laying the groundwork early is essential to achieve business results and enhance technological competitiveness 10 to 20 years down the line.

The future growth engine Koo envisions is the 'ABC' business. He is earnest about promoting not only AI and bio, which have recently gained attention, but also cleantech businesses that can respond to environmental issues. At the regular shareholders' meeting held in March, he stated, "Despite the global economic slowdown, we will continue investing," adding, "We will focus on securing future foundations centered on new growth pillars such as AI, bio, and cleantech."

In this regard, LG announced an investment plan worth 6.9 trillion won. It declared it would invest 3.6 trillion won by 2026 to advance AI technology and conduct large-scale research and development (R&D). In the bio sector, it forecasted an investment exceeding 1.5 trillion won for innovative new drug development. For expanding cleantech, including bio and renewable energy materials, used battery recycling, and electric vehicle charging, it will pour in 1.8 trillion won.

Going forward, LG will focus on ultra-large AI 'EXAONE' and AI-related R&D centered on its AI research institute. Through ultra-large AI, it plans to solve business challenges for each affiliate and support customer experience innovation. In fact, the image generation AI (Atelier) introduced by the AI research institute is being utilized in LG Household & Health Care's cosmetic cases and LG Electronics' home appliance designs.

In the bio sector, LG Chem is reviewing various business strategies such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to expand new drug research and pipelines (new drug candidates). It is also striving to secure advanced bio technologies. In January, it acquired Aveo Pharmaceuticals, which holds an FDA-approved kidney cancer treatment. This is the first case of a domestic company acquiring a company with an FDA-approved new drug.

In the cleantech sector, LG Energy Solution is actively increasing overseas cooperation cases to enhance used battery recycling and reuse capabilities. LG plans to find new business opportunities by increasing global-level cooperation cases through equity investments, M&A, and other methods. It is also increasing investments in the eco-friendly plastics market, including biodegradable polymer plastics.

In the business community, there is an assessment that this is a time when CEO Koo’s new business strategy, who is an engineering graduate with a strong interest in advanced industries, can shine. Koo majored in computer science, dealing with computing fields such as AI, at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S.

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