LG stepping up research recruitment in the U.S.

Executives at LG Group, one of Korea’s largest conglomerates, and LG Electronics, the group’s flagship company, have been focusing on the importance of talent recently.

In line with that, LG Electronics wrapped up an event yesterday in San Jose, California aimed at recruiting engineers studying or working abroad.

LG Electronics is the world’s largest manufacturer of clothes washers, according to GfK Group, a market researcher, and is No.2 in terms of flat screen TVs and No.3 in mobile phones.

Dubbed Techno Conference, the four-day event introduced the company and its business areas and provided job descriptions and on-site interviews.

LG Electronics has held Techno Conference every year since 2005 in an effort to promote the company among engineers, but this year’s event was the largest ever, which reflects LG Electronics CEO Koo Bon-joon’s focus on research competitiveness and talent management.

Some 20 technology executives at LG Electronics, including Skott Ahn, the chief technology officer, attended the event.

Around 150 Korean students and engineers participated, including those pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering at prestigious U.S. universities, along with those working at major IT companies. About 100 signed up for on-site interviews.

“To prepare for the future and obtain technological competitiveness in smartphone development, securing excellent research & development personnel is crucial,” Ahn said. LG plans to hold similar events in other countries.

Techno Conference is only the latest in a series of efforts LG has been pursuing to strengthen its R&D capabilities.

Late last month, LG Electronics announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with 13 major universities in Korea, including Seoul National University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kaist) and Pohang University of Science and Technology.

Under the deal, LG Electronics will support some 160 different R&D projects by injecting some 10 billion won ($9.18 million), and offer students scholarships plus a job opportunity at LG Electronics upon graduation.

LG Group has been working to improve its human resources management and R&D efforts significantly this year.

Earlier this month, Koo Bon-moo, 66, the group’s chairman, vowed to create a pool of 500 talented young employees and provide them with training and support to better foster leadership within the group. LG Group announced last month that it will hire 5,000 new R&D employees this year and it has earmarked 4.7 trillion won for R&D spending this year.

By Kim Hyung-eun [hkim@joongang.co.kr]