LS Group Chairman Christopher Koo. (Photo: LS Group)

In his New Year’s message, LS Group Chairman Christopher Koo urged his executives and staffers to implement four core tasks: creating steady cash flows, accelerating eco-friendly and future growth businesses, ramping up overseas operations’ own business capabilities and digital transformation.

The business group is expected to step on the gas to drive ESG management as the manufacturing industry’s core and sustainability strategy.

It introduced an electronic voting system in this year’s shareholders’ meeting to protect shareholders’ rights. They plan to continue to share ESG practices by announcing public notices such as business performances.

Businesses, such as the construction of infrastructure in the digital and green areas, are expected to be spurred in the government’s Korean New Deal policies. LS Group has made preparations since 2015 to make digital transformation the group’s strategy.

The group is striving to reform itself as a digital and eco-friendly company by having the conventional manufacturing industry adopt AI, big data and smart energy technologies.

LS Cables & System (LS C&S) has released new products related to renewable energy sources, such as wind power and photovoltaic power and strengthened marketing activities of late.

LS C&S landed mega projects in the United States, the Netherlands and Bahrain last year. LS C&S struck a five-year contract to supply super high-voltage undersea cables on a preferential basis with Ørsted, a Danish off-shore wind power developer.

LS C&S pulled off all long-term undersea cable supply orders that had been placed so far in the first phase of building off-shore wind power plants in Taiwan.

The contractor of each project varies like CIP of Denmark, Jan De Nul of Belgium and WPD of Germany, but all undersea cables are to be supplied by LS C&S.

LS C&S is expanding its turf in the photovoltaic power business. LS C&S became the first Korean company to develop 22.9kV undersea cables and DC cables for photovoltaic power by making the most of its expertise in the undersea cable sector.

The company supplied cables for about 30 photovoltaic power farms in Korea, including those in Namjeong, Goheung, and Solar City in Haenam.

LS C&S has been expanding the business related to EVs as the company struck long-term deals to supply aluminum cables for EVs and cables for drive motors to global automakers and mechatronic solution providers.

LS ELECTRIC is stepping on the gas to implement the next-generation micro-grid business, which can make small areas self-sufficient with power by making the most of convergence smart solutions, combining its technology power it has accumulated in the power and automation sectors as well as ICT.

As part of its green energy businesses, LS ELECTRIC dedicated and put into commercial operation megawatt-class photovoltaic power plants connected with ESSs abroad like Hokkaido and Hanamizki, Japan, and including a 94MW one in Yeongam, the largest capacity one in Korea.

The company was recognized for its technology prowess in efforts to preserve energy and expand renewable energies by making Seogeocha-do in Jeollanam-do the world’s biggest DC energy self-sufficient island in 2019.

LS ELECTRIC is joining forces in the development of related technologies after signing MOUs with a variety of companies in Korea and abroad to comply with the government’s Green New Deal and realize the hydrogen economy.

In August, LS ELECTRIC teamed up with Doosan Fuel Cell, Hanwha Power System and Hanwha Asset Management to develop fuel-cell business models using unused energy from city gas facilities.

Under the deal, they are jointly engaged in exchanges of technologies using untapped energies, such as the development of business models related to convergence energy efficiency and related total financial services.

In December, LS ELECTRIC signed an MOU on the development and supply of fuel cell power generation systems with Hyundai Motor.

LS-Nikko Copper is implementing “Onsan Digital Smelter, (ODS),” a smart factory to optimize the operation of the Onsan smelting plant through automation of all processes related to the production of the plant.

Onsan smelting plant, with the world’s second biggest production capacity, aims to become the world’s first smelter in the world, boasting not only production efficiency and souped-up safety, but also environmental protection. The ODS is expected to be a future growth engine not only for LS-Nikko Copper but also LS Group.

The company, specializing in the distribution of eco-friendly LPG, inaugurated a “new/renewal energy power generation business team” last year.

It is making every effort to ramp up the new/renewal energy business as a power generator as the company dedicated an 8MW photovoltaic power farm in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do, in June.

An LS Group official said the business group is dramatically ramping up digital capabilities by allowing the conventional manufacturing business areas to employ automation, big data, and AI technologies.

The mainstay businesses’ digital transformation and superb technology power they have accumulated in the green energy sector are expected to ramp up its capabilities in the eco-friendly business to make society sustainable, the official said.