2026 LG Awards spotlight customer-centric innovation in AI, bio

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo speaks during 2026 LG Awards ceremony at LG Inhwawon in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Courtesy of LG Group

By Lee Gyu-lee

• Published Apr 19, 2026 4:24 PM KST
• Updated Apr 19, 2026 4:35 PM KST

LG Group said Sunday it held its annual LG Awards on Thursday, awarding top prizes to four projects credited with driving major contract wins, revenue gains and manufacturing efficiencies across artificial intelligence (AI), bio and clean tech.

Marking its eighth year, the group‑wide award recognizes projects that turn customer‑centric innovation into measurable business results, honoring 4,700 awardees and 583 best‑practice cases since 2019.

This year’s award ceremony, held at LG Inhwawon in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, recognized 730 employees, with a focus on initiatives that enhanced the overall customer experience through differentiated value and market‑beating innovation.

“The remark from the awards’ customer juror that ‘LG is life itself’ captures the very reason for LG’s existence,” Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of the group, said in a speech.

“The value we should create is not technology, products or services themselves, but a better life for our customers. If we stay focused on that single goal, we can offer customers a better tomorrow than today.”

Among 217 submissions from across LG affiliates, a total of 91 projects were selected after evaluations by customers, employees and experts, including four Grand Awards, 33 Customer Satisfaction Awards and 54 Customer Empathy Awards.

LG Energy Solution won two Grand Awards, including one for a team that developed the world’s first 95 percent high-nickel cathode with particle-boundary coating. It boosts electric vehicles’ (EV) range on a single charge by about 30 percent while also improving battery lifespan and safety. Batteries using this technology have secured large-scale orders from global EV clients and established a technological lead of more than three years through patents.

The company’s AI-based smart factory project won the Grand Award for the second consecutive year for an autonomous mobile‑robot logistics solution.

Another Grand Award went to a team from LG Electronics' vehicle solutions division, which developed the world’s first smart antenna 5G telematics module for physical AI mobility, such as autonomous and connected vehicles.

Physical AI mobility requires antennas on vehicles to capture outside signals and high-performance telematics systems. LG Electronics’ invention integrates telematics and antennas into a single module, earning trillion won-scale orders.

This year’s awards also highlighted LG’s borderless innovation culture that spans plants, labs and overseas subsidiaries. Penny Butler, senior director at AVEO Oncology, LG Chem’s U.S.-based oncology subsidiary, became the first foreign national to receive a Grand Award.

By enabling real-time cross-functional collaboration and data-driven case analysis, Butler reduced the insurance approval process to ensure timely treatment for kidney cancer patients.