LG

Targeting a Double-Digit Operating Margin by 2030
as It Accelerates Its Transformation into an AI-Based, High-Value Materials Business
 
 
■ Concentrating company-wide capabilities on reshaping its portfolio around AI-based, high-growth industries
 □ Transforming its business structure toward high-value areas such as semiconductor, mobility, and robotics materials
 □ Evolving into an integrated solutions business model that co-designs both the performance and manufacturing processes of customers’ products
 
■ Establishing a new business development organization under the direct oversight of the CEO, pursuing R&D investment in parallel with external growth strategies
 □ Establishing a new business development organization reporting directly to the CEO to accelerate strategy execution
 □ Investing KRW 15 trillion in R&D by 2035, allocating approximately 70% to growth businesses, while also pursuing M&A
 
■ Dong Chun Kim, CEO of LG Chem:
 “While strengthening the competitiveness of our existing businesses, we will concentrate our capabilities on the future growth pillars of semiconductor, mobility, and robotics materials, along with anticancer drugs, propelling LG Chem forward as a tech-driven converting company.”
 
 
LG Chem is investing KRW 15 trillion in R&D by 2035 to drive its full-scale transformation into an AI-based, high-value materials company.
 
At a town hall meeting on the 22nd, Dong Chun Kim, CEO of LG Chem, announced that the company will advance its portfolio by cultivating semiconductor, mobility, and robotics materials, along with anticancer drugs, as its core future businesses.
 
This strategy is designed to upgrade the company’s profit structure around high-growth industries at a time when profitability in the traditional chemicals business is slowing amid global oversupply and intensifying competition. While continuing to strengthen the competitiveness of its existing businesses, LG Chem plans to expand the share of its high-value businesses on the foundation of its technological competitiveness and customer base. Through these efforts, the company aims to achieve a double-digit operating margin by 2030.
 
To this end, LG Chem will invest a total of KRW 15 trillion in R&D by 2035. In particular, the company plans to allocate 70% of its R&D resources to growth businesses such as semiconductors, mobility, and robotics, while concentrating on securing AI-based new applications and leading-edge technologies. To support this, LG Chem established a new business development organization reporting directly to the CEO this past June and has been accelerating the execution of its strategy. In addition, the company plans to pursue external growth strategies such as M&A within the scope of available funding, thereby accelerating its business expansion and strengthening its global competitiveness.
 
In its semiconductor and infrastructure business, LG Chem will focus on securing competitiveness in advanced packaging materials. The company plans to expand development of high-value products such as packaging adhesives, low-dielectric materials, thermal management materials, and glass substrates, and to grow its electronic materials business to KRW 2 trillion in scale by 2030, leveraging its core materials such as PID, DAF, and CCL.
 
In its mobility and robotics business, LG Chem will expand its scope beyond materials for electric vehicles and future mobility into robot structural materials as well as precision actuation and bonding materials. Building on the technological barriers established through joint development with customers, the company plans to lay a sustainable, stable foundation for profitability.
 
In its anticancer drug business, LG Chem will strengthen its pipeline competitiveness through global clinical trials and partnerships. The company plans to enhance commercialization prospects through measures such as technology licensing and M&A, positioning this business as a mid- to long-term growth driver.
 
At the same time, LG Chem is transforming its business model into that of an integrated solutions company that goes beyond the simple supply of materials to co-design the performance and manufacturing processes of its customers’ products. Through this approach, the company aims to move away from price-driven competition and build a stable, sustainable, high-margin structure.
 
Dong Chun Kim, CEO of LG Chem, stated, “While strengthening the competitiveness of our existing businesses, we will concentrate our capabilities on the future growth pillars of semiconductor, mobility, and robotics materials, along with anticancer drugs, propelling LG Chem forward as a tech-driven converting company.”
 
*Tech-driven converting company: A company that integrally designs materials, processes, and products in line with changing customers and markets, and that creates high added value and a differentiated profit structure on the basis of its accumulated technological capabilities.
 
(End)
[Terminology]
 
Low-dielectric material: An insulating material that reduces interference and signal loss between the interconnects through which electrical signals travel inside a semiconductor, helping data move faster and more reliably.
 
Thermal management material: An essential material that effectively dissipates or controls the immense heat generated as semiconductors and electronic components operate in environments such as high-performance computing, thereby preventing degradation in device performance.
 
Glass substrate: A substrate offering superior flatness and dimensional stability compared with conventional plastic-based substrates, making it advantageous for implementing fine circuits and ensuring the stability of large packages.
 
PID (Photo-Imageable Dielectric): A photosensitive dielectric that forms the ultra-fine circuits connecting the semiconductor chip and the substrate. By creating pathways for electrical signals and improving circuit precision, it is a core material in advanced packaging processes that enhances semiconductor performance and reliability.
 
DAF (Die Attach Film): An ultra-thin, high-performance film-type adhesive material of highly uniform thickness, used to bond a semiconductor chip to a substrate or to stack multiple chips on top of one another.
 
CCL (Copper-Clad Laminate): A substrate material consisting of a thin copper layer applied over an insulating material, serving as a base material for circuit formation and electrical connection in semiconductor packages and electronic circuit boards.