Chairman Koo is seen during his inspection of a booth of LG Electronics at an electronics  exhibition.(Photo:LG Group)

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo said the group is ready to splurge some 6.3 trillion won this year on R&D activities to develop fusion and compound technologies and segregate its services amid the uncertain management environment facing the corporate world.

The group has allocated the largest investment fund for this year in its history, following 5.4 trillion won in 2013 and 5.9 trillion won in 2014. The majority of the investment will go to the development of next-generation auto parts, energy storage systems, smart micro grid and others related to new industries. Money will also be allocated to new areas such as smart homes and IoT, next generation displays and technologies for the development of new materials, among others. Around 1 trillion won has been allocated for the construction of the LG Science Park, which is being built in Magok, Geyonggi Province.

About 300 leading executives of the group gathered at the LG Twin Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 10 for a seminar to hear Bok Keo-il, a renowned social critic, lecture on the “development of artificial intelligence.” The group said the seminar took place to help the top executives of the group by arming them with the spirit of innovation by studying the progress of human intelligence. Ultimately, that will help them lead the group to take another towards moving up the ladder of development.

The group expects the market for machines that think like humans — such as drones and unmanned cars — will grow fast, hence the invitation to the social critic. They want to be prepared for the new age opening up rapidly.

The development of artificial intelligence foretell that changes will occur in the future society, Bok said, adding that the human brain has a limit, but artificial intelligence has no such boundaries, which will help develop human society and its culture ceaselessly. He said the corporate community should change along with the development of artificial intelligence, but so far its response has been nowhere near where it should be.

LG Group has been expanding its investment in R&D activities in line with Chairman Koo’s intention to develop new technologies. He called for the development of technologies to enhance the group’s competitive edge in such newly developing areas as fusion and compound technologies crossing over the industrial boundaries. The development of new materials and parts have become more important, along with the technologies that can be part of the “core” for LG Group to be more competitive. 

He made the remarks at LG Electronics’ Seocho R&D Campus.

Chairman Koo also told leading executives of the group at the LG Twin Tower seminar that they should redouble efforts to lead the market, as the speed of market change has been growing faster, and competition among business firms to wire the tide of change has become more difficult. He said they should not just follow changes, but lead change by looking where no one else tried to look.

LG Group has been holding the LG Executives Seminar every quarter for top executives of the group and its affiliates, such as LG Electronics and LG Display, since 1995 when Koo assumed the helm. The seminar always has a speaker to lecture following Chairman Koo’s speech on various subjects. Market leadership is always the main theme.