LG Chairman Koo on the hunt for talent to win future technology war  

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is spearheading South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate’s search for top R&D talent in science and engineering fields to lead the tech-driven innovation of human living.

“LG’s dream is to create happy experiences for people and turn people’s imaginations into a better future,” Koo said on Thursday during this year’s LG Tech Conference, to which 400 master's and doctoral degree holders in science and engineering majors were invited.

“We truly value ‘technology and innovation’ that can make our dreams come true and ‘people and talent’ who can make it possible.”  

The LG Tech Conference is LG’s annual event that launched in 2012 to recruit R&D experts. It is where the group's companies get to present their technological vision and inventions.

This year’s conference was held at LG Sciencepark, Korea’s largest R&D complex. It was also attended by management executives, chief technology officers, chief digital officers and chief human resource officers of LG’s affiliates, including LG Electronics Inc., LG Display Co., LG CNS Co., LG Innotek Co. and LG Chem Ltd.

The invitees were scholars and researchers in the artificial intelligence (AI), bio, clean tech, mobility and advanced materials sectors.    

“We strongly support your relentless efforts to achieve your dreams and take leaps, and I hope that LG can join in your journey,” said Koo.

LG on that day hosted tech sessions covering some 26 technologies including AI, big data, the metaverse, blockchain and smart factories.

LG'S COMMITMENT TO NEXT-GEN TECHNOLOGY

The latest event is one of many efforts made by LG to build a bank of talent that can help the company enhance its future technology capabilities amid the accelerating tech revolution.

Its electronics arm LG Electronics has teamed up with domestic universities including Yonsei University, Hanyang University and Kookmin University to foster software experts and automotive electronics engineers.

It also runs its own graduate school program for AI technology, dubbed the LG AI Graduate School, to address the talent shortage.

Last year, LG Corp.’s AI research institute set up its first overseas base in the US state of Michigan, to expand its global AI research ecosystem into North America.

LG AI Research was set up in December 2020 after Chairman Koo picked AI as the group's new growth driver.

LG plans to invest 200 billion won ($153.4 million) by 2023 to foster AI talent with the aim of securing about 1,000 experts.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.