LG to nurture automotive electronics talent at Korean universities

LG Electronics Inc., the world’s leading home appliance maker, plans to foster talent for its automotive electronics business at South Korean universities as it aims to expand the business as a core future growth engine.

The South Korean electronics behemoth will open master’s courses in automotive electronics at Hanyang University and Kookmin University in Seoul from the first half of 2023, according to industry sources on Tuesday. They will be the first academic courses in the sector operated by a non-automaker in the country.

The company will guarantee employment to those who graduate while providing all tuition fees and living expenses during the two-year master's programs.

“There is consensus that the company needs to develop the automotive electronics business as soon as possible as the industry expects electric vehicles to become mainstream in the next five to six years, much earlier than an initial forecast of 10 years,” said an LG Electronics official.

Its parent LG Group in May unveiled five-year business plans including investments of $34 billion in the automotive electronics, battery and other future growth sectors.

TURNS TO BLACK

LG Electronics expected sales from its automotive electronics business to grow 32.8% to 8.9 trillion won ($6.6 billion) this year from 2021. The unit reported an operating profit of 50 billion won ($37.3 million) in the April-June period, its first quarterly profit in nearly seven years.

The company won orders worth a total of 8 trillion won in the first half to supply infotainment systems, high-performance telematics and others to global major automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda Motor Co.

Its affiliates are also expanding their automobile electronics businesses. LG Energy Solution Ltd. specializes in EV batteries, while LG Display Co. and LG Innotek Co. manufacture infotainment systems and cameras for self-driving vehicles, respectively.

“Strong technologies and a high level of completion in the automotive electronics business usually leads to stable demand through global supply chains,” said another LG Electronics official.

Governments worldwide accelerating measures to expand EVs at the expense of internal combustion engine cars for carbon neutrality.

European Parliament lawmakers voted for an effective ban in the European Union on the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles from 2035, while the US is aiming for half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to be electric.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.