LG Chem CEO leads recruitment drive in U.S.

LG Chem Vice Chairman Park Jin-soo, third from right, and Chief Technology Officer Yoo Jin-nyoung, left, talk with undergraduate and graduate students that participated at the battery maker’s recruiting event in Los Angeles on Friday. [LG CHEM]

LG Chem Vice Chairman and CEO Park Jin-soo flew to the United States in search of new recruits, the company said Sunday.

According to the Korean battery maker, Park has visited various countries like the United States, China and Japan to participate in local recruiting events over the past six years.

The latest recruiting event, dubbed the Business & Campus Tour, was held Friday in Los Angeles.

About 40 undergraduate and postgraduate students from 30 major universities in the United States, including Stanford and Duke, were invited to the event, where Park introduced the company’s vision.

“LG Chem has become the first Korean company to be one of the world’s top 10 chemical companies this year,” Park said at the event. “This was possible thanks to our employees’ strong will to become the world’s best company and the organizational culture that supported the dream.”

Park also showed students a picture of a plastic factory in Busan established by Lak Hui Chemical Industrial, which later became LG Chem, in 1953 with the motto, “a company of the employees, by the employees, for the employees.”

Park added that the core driver of LG Chem’s growth is its employees.

The battery maker said Park prioritizes recruiting good talent before pursuing business projects in a statement Sunday. When beginning a new business or pursuing a merger and acquisition deal, Park asks whether there is somebody able to take charge of the project before asking how much the project will cost, according to the company.

As LG Chem is currently aiming for an average 15 percent business growth annually based on massive investments and developing new cash cow businesses, the company said. Securing key talent to make that growth possible is its top priority for now.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]