Samsung, LG revamp think tanks with new names

Samsung logo and the headquarters of LG Group in Seoul / Courtesy of each company

By Anna J. Park

Samsung Economic Research Institute, SERI, changed its official name to Samsung Global Research earlier this month after appointing three co-presidents.

LG Economic Research Institute also plans to change its official name to LG Management Research Institute. The last time the research institute changed its official name was in 1995.

Market watchers say the representative research institutes of Samsung and LG ― the country's two leading conglomerates ― are heading in divergent paths.

While Samsung research institute aims to expand its research subjects, including studies on the global economic environment as well as related industries and companies, LG research Institute is turning inward by focusing on providing in-house consulting for the group's subsidiaries.

The research affiliate of the Samsung business conglomerate said the name change reflects the group's expanded outreach into the global market.

“With an in-depth analysis of the international management environment as well as conducting analysis on related industries, the research center aims to become a think tank that characterizes Samsung's world-class quality production in the global market,” the research institute said, Tuesday.

Launched back in 1986, the research institute of LG Group started off as a research agency within its brokerage arm. The agency grew into LG Economic Research Institute in 1995, after going through several changes in its organization.

The name change from “economic research institute” to “management research institute” is also intended to put more emphasis on providing practical management consulting to group affiliates and strengthening research on management cases, while cutting back on macroeconomics analyses.

So far, LG Economic Research Institute, the only think tank affiliated to a conglomerate, has been active in macroeconomics analyses, forecasting the country's growth rates. With the latest change, the research institute aims to focus on conducting strategic research for the group's growth.

The change of the research institute's direction has been clearly reflected in its job recruitment posting. It stopped hiring macroeconomics analysts starting this year, while continuing to hire management consultants.