LG Group changes its core

Cho Ju-no LG Corp. COO

By Lee Hyo-sik

LG Group appears to be changing its very core value — conservatism.

Following the unprecedented promotion of a high-school graduate to president of its key affiliate, LG Electronics, the group retired two key stalwarts Thursday, seeking more fresh blood.

Kang Yu-sig, who was the co-CEO of LG Corp., was pulled back from the vice chairman position of LG Group and moved to the LG Management Development Institute.

LG Corp. COO Cho Ju-no will take over Kang’s role. Since 1999, Kang had mainly handled the group’s key changes.

LG Chem Vice Chairman Kim Bahn-suk, also moved to LG’s board of directors. Park Jin-soo, the president of LG Chem’s petrochemical division, took over Kim’s role.

“LG’s first-generation figures are out. Through the generational shift, LG Group wants to gain new growth momentum,” said an official.

LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom was promoted to president thanks to a stellar performance in the race for 3D screens and a stronger relationship with Apple. The U.S. firm is a big client by buying billions of dollars worth of flat-screens.

LG Hausys, the building materials unit of LG Group, also named Oh Jang-soo as the new CEO. LG Group promoted 110 people to senior and mid-ranking executive positions, up from last year’s 106, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, LG Electronics appointed a high-school graduate to head its home appliance division, the first such case in the firm’s 54-year history that a person without a university degree has become a CEO.

The appointment signals that a local firm has started breaking down academic barriers in promotion. No one with only a high school diploma has also ever been promoted to a CEO post in its archrival Samsung Electronics,

Jo Seong-jin, 56, who graduated from Yongsan Technical High School in Seoul, was chosen by Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo as the top man to manage the home appliance business at the group’s flagship electronics maker.

Previously, Jo was the executive vice president of the washing machine division. Jo began working for Gold Star, the predecessor of LG Electronics, in 1976. Since then the CEO has devoted his career solely to the development of washing machines.

“He has played a crucial role in making the firm the world’s No. 1 washing machine manufacturer. His promotion is strictly in accordance with performance,” LG said.

Jo was able to graduate from high school thanks to a full-scholarship offered by Gold Star. After joining the company, he was assigned to a team designing washing machines. In 1976, less than 1 percent of local households had the appliance.

For the past 36 years, he has been involved only in designing, developing and producing such machines. Jo visited Japanese electronics makers about 150 times to learn about their technological knowhow and other expertise.

In 1998 when he was a director general of the design team, he supervised the development of the “direct drier” system ahead of LG’s Japanese rivals, which shifted the industry paradigm.

The new system made it possible for a motor to directly power a wash tray, saving energy by 60 percent, and reducing noise and vibration. The previous system had to connect a wash tray with a motor through a conveyor belt.

In 2002, Jo developed a large-scale drum washing machine, making LG Electronics the first firm to do so in the world. The new type has become a global hit, with LG products accounting for 20 percent of the global market.