LG Chem said it will invest 15 trillion won in research and development (R&D) by 2035 to transform into an artificial intelligence (AI)-based high-value materials company.
Kim Dong-chun, president of LG Chem, said at a town hall meeting at the Yeouido headquarters in Seoul on the 22nd that the company will foster semiconductor, mobility, and robotics materials and an anticancer new drug as future core businesses.
The strategy aims to shift the revenue structure toward high-growth industries as profitability in traditional chemical businesses slows amid global oversupply and intensifying competition. LG Chem plans to maintain competitiveness in existing businesses while expanding the share of high-value businesses to achieve a double-digit operating margin by 2030.
LG Chem will allocate 70% of its R&D resources to growth businesses such as semiconductor, mobility, and robotics materials, and will also focus on securing AI-based new application areas and leading technologies. To back this up, the company in June created a new business development organization reporting directly to the chief executive officer (CEO).
By business, the company plans to secure competitiveness in advanced packaging materials in the semiconductor and infrastructure sector. It will expand development of high-value products such as adhesives for packaging, low-dielectric materials, thermal management materials, and glass substrates, and aims to grow the electronic materials business to 2 trillion won by 2030 based on competitiveness in key materials such as PID, DAF, and CCL.
In mobility and robotics, it will expand its business scope beyond electric vehicle and future mobility materials to robotic structural materials and precision drive and bonding materials.
The anticancer new drug business will strengthen pipeline competitiveness through global clinical trials and partnerships. The company plans to boost commercialization potential through technology transfers and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and nurture it as a mid- to long-term growth engine.
Alongside this, LG Chem presented a blueprint to shift its business model from simple materials supply to an "integrated solutions corporation" that designs not only the performance of customers' products but also their manufacturing processes. Through this, the company aims to move away from price-centered competition and build a stable and sustainable high-profit structure.
Kim Dong-chun, president of LG Chem, emphasized, "While strengthening the competitiveness of our existing businesses, we will focus our capabilities on future growth pillars centered on semiconductor, mobility, and robotics materials and an anticancer new drug to leap forward as a 'technology-strong converting company.'"