LS Group revs up to enter EV charging business

South Korean conglomerate LS Group is eyeing the growing electric vehicle industry and the markets derived from it. 

The group announced the launch of new corporation named LS E-Link on Thursday – its seventh subsidiary. The EV charging service provider is a joint venture between LS Corp. and E1 Corp.

LS is the group’s namesake holding company. E1, an affiliate of LS Group, imports liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from overseas and distributes it in South Korea.

LS and E1 poured in a total of 12 billion won ($9.5 million) into the new entity for equal stakes. LS E-Link is set to begin its operations in the latter half of this year. 

“We decided to enter this market because the speed in which drivers are switching to electric vehicles and the power consumption at charging units are both increasing,” an LS employee familiar with the development told The Korea Economic Daily. “The company stands a fair chance at winning in this sector when it combines the operational expertise of charging stations in addition to the technological prowess.” 

LS Group is well-positioned to explore the EV charging market as it is the country’s leading power solutions provider and E1 has decades of know-how on gas station operations. LS Cable & System, in particular, mass produces magnet wires for EVs that can be used at 800 volts – a first for a South Korean manufacturer. 

E1 currently operates some 350 charging stations nationwide. 

The new corporation’s name E-Link was chosen through a poll within the group. E refers to energy and electricity while Link is supposed to mean that the new entity will act as a control tower for the group’s EV charging businesses.

Kim Dae-geun, the former CEO of E1 Container Terminal, will lead the new venture.

When Koo Ja-eun took the helm at LS Group earlier this year, he promised to take the conglomerate "to become a total energy solutions provider” by utilizing its technology in the electricity and materials sector. 

LS Group was part of LG Group, the country’s fourth largest chaebol, until 2003. 

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.