LG strengthens top management in executive reshuffle

Koo Bon-joon LG Corp. Vice Chairman

By Yoon Sung-won

LG Group is seeking to shake up its top management, naming a new vice chairman and seven new presidents on the first day of its 2016 executive reshuffle, Thursday.

Announcing the personnel transfers and promotions after meetings of the board of directors, the nation’s fourth-largest conglomerate said it has concentrated on boosting the top decision-making capabilities of its affiliates this year, compared to last year when it named only three presidents.

The group also said it has downsized the number of executive promotions to cope with the aggravated business environment and secure stability.

“LG has executed a personnel renovation aiming at market leadership and future growth despite difficult business conditions such as the persisting global economic slowdown and intensifying competition with global enterprises,” LG said in a statement.

LG Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Koo Bon-joon has moved to LG Corp. to head the group’s new growth businesses.

Expectations are high that he will play a key role in keeping the balance between the group’s affiliates alongside his elder brother LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo. The younger Koo will also hold the chairman position on LG Electronics’ board of directors.

Over the last five years of his leadership at LG Electronics, Koo worked to rebuild the company’s mobile sector by pushing the smartphone business and fostering new growth engine initiatives such as car parts, solar power generation equipment, and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions. To that end, the CEO has expanded investment in R&D from 2.7 trillion won in 2010 to 3.66 trillion won last year.

LG Corp. also named Baek Sang-yeop as the president of its synergy team.

LG Display President and CEO Han Sang-beom was named as the new vice chairman.

The company said his contribution to strengthening the leadership in the large liquid crystal display market and to commercializing OLED and flexible display products was the reason for his promotion. Under his leadership, LG Display has recorded profits for 14 consecutive quarters since 2012.

LG Electronics changed its top management into a three-director system comprised of President and CFO David Jung, President and CEO of Home Appliances & Air Solutions Jo Seong-jin and President and CEO of Mobile Communications Cho Juno. The three execs can autonomously exert their own authority in this system, the company said.

The change can be interpreted as a move for more prudent and rational decision-making amid the worse-than-expected market performance of the nation’s second-largest electronics maker.

“The three-director system aims at accelerating business growth and promoting responsible business management based on respective expertise,” LG Electronics said in a statement.

LG stressed it has given credit to each manager’s achievements in core businesses ― electronics and chemicals ― and in new growth sectors such as car parts and energy.

It promoted Hong Soon-kook, senior vice president of the Production Engineering Research Institute, to president, skipping the executive vice president position. Such a special promotion is rare in LG Group’s executive reshuffles.

LG Electronics also named Lee Sang-bong as its business-to-business sector president.

LG Innotek named LG Electronics Chief Technology Advisor Park Jong-seok as its new president and CEO. The company said Park has played a key role in launching LG Electronics’ core strategic smartphone G series when he served as president of its mobile communications company before Cho Juno.

LG Chem said it named outgoing LG Innotek CEO Lee Ung-beom as its new battery business division president. It expected that Lee’s expertise in product manufacturing and quality management will contribute to the company’s market leadership in the global secondary cell business.

The company also promoted Executive Vice Presidents Son Ok-dong and Kim Myung-hwan to presidents while appointing LG Household & Health Care CFO Chung Ho-young to president and CFO of LG Chem.

LG Household & Health Care promoted Senior Vice President Lee Jung-ae to executive vice president in order to boost the company’s market leadership in the household items sector. Lee became the group’s first female executive vice president.

Serveone, a building management affiliate of LG Group, promoted Lee Dong-youll to president of its maintenance, repair and operation division.

As LG Display and LG Housys held board meetings late Wednesday, other LG Group affiliates such as LG Uplus, LG CNS and LG International Corp. are expected to announce their executive reshuffles late Thursday.