LG Innotek seeks to bolster innovation through a broader talent pool

Efforts by LG Innotek Co. to diversify its talent pool have borne fruit by boosting its competitive edge, under its chief executive's focus on broadening the backgrounds and perspectives of employees.

Early last year, the electronic components unit of South Korea’s LG Group hired an AI master, Choi Jeong-myung, who had amassed multiple awards at AI technology competitions before joining the company.

Since then, Choi has developed deep-learning algorithms optimized for patent analysis that have significantly cut the time needed to analyze patents from 100 days to a mere four hours, according to LG Innotek on Sunday.

LG Innotek's patent division analyzes global patents related to the company’s businesses, which number some 3 million each year.

Choi’s onboarding was in line with LG Innotek CEO Jeong Cheol-dong’s emphasis on attracting a wider talent pool with an array of backgrounds and industry experiences.  

Jeong has stressed the value of attracting experienced people with unique perspectives who can bring innovation to the company's workplace and corporate culture.

“Individual experiences and a wide range of expertises will enhance the company’s competitiveness,” said Jeong, calling on the company to diversify its hiring process to broaden the talent pool.

Under Jeong’s leadership, LG Innotek also hired Jeon So-young, a seasoned weather forecaster, as the company’s senior officer in its Talent Acquisition team. Jeon is credited with developing the company's internal and external communications.

She moderates LG Innotek’s ‘CEO Live’ in which CEO Jeong meets employees each quarter to discuss various issues. She also performed the company’s ‘VIP docent’ role at the 2023 CES earlier this year in Las Vegas. 

The company also welcomed a former Korean Intellectual Property Office employee, who now works in its Optics Solutions division specializing in new technology analysis.

The emphasis on diversity in the workplace is a global phenomenon built on expectations that it adds richness to the workplace.

Collaboration among people from various backgrounds and experiences is often encouraged as it can introduce fresh perspectives and lead to better problem-solving and greater productivity.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.