LG Group to up hiring, investment

LG Group, Korea’s No. 4 conglomerate, said yesterday it plans to raise its investment and hiring this year in the face of the economic slowdown.

LG said it plans to invest a total of 20 trillion won ($18.8 billion) this year compared with 16.8 trillion won last year.

If the plan is carried out as scheduled, the 2013 investment will be a record high. In 2011, the group’s investment reached 19.4 trillion won.

LG said it plans to pour 14 trillion won into facility investment this year, up 18.6 percent from last year, in a bid to cope with growing demand for its mainstay products. It will also spend a record 6 trillion won for research and development, also up 20 percent over the cited period.

LG Group said although the economic outlook is not rosy, it decided to spend more in order to remain competitive in its key business areas.

The group said it plans to spend 13.4 trillion won on its electronics business, 3.5 trillion won on its chemicals business sector, and another 3.1 trillion won on the telecommunications and service segment.

LG Group’s affiliates include electronics heavyweight LG Electronics, flat panel giant LG Display, mobile carrier LG U+ and LG Chem.

The group also said it plans to raise hiring this year, with the number of the newly recruited expected to surpass the 15,000 mark.

The group’s workers reached some 125,000 at the end of last year, up 5,000 from a year ago. Korea’s family-owned conglomerates have vowed to increase capital spending.

Yonhap