LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility sign transportation deal

Industry

Published: 22 Jun. 2022, 17:26 Updated: 22 Jun. 2022, 19:48

LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility sign transportation deal

LG Electronics Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kim Byoung-hoon and Kakao Mobility CTO Yoo Seung-il pose for photo during a signing ceremony held in Yangjae, southern Seoul, Friday. [LG ELECTRONICS, KAKAO MOBILITY]

LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility agreed to co-develop next-generation transportation services focusing on robot delivery, the companies said Wednesday.

LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility signed a memorandum of understanding last Friday to develop transportation services related to advanced mobility technologies, such as robot delivery, in-car user interface software and network connectivity for vehicles. The companies are aiming to invest in local mobility startups as well.

Kakao Mobility is a transportation service company 57.5 percent owned by Kakao. Kakao Mobility runs Kakao T app, mostly known for its taxi-hailing service.

LG Corp., which is the largest shareholder of LG Electronics with a 33.7 percent share, invested 100 billion won ($77.1 million) in Kakao Mobility in July last year. LG Corp. held 2.4 percent shares of Kakao Mobility in April, according to Kakao Mobility's annual report.

LG Electronics has been aggressively pushing its vehicle component business forward, with a focus on the infotainment system for cars and electric vehicle components.

The company introduced LG Omnipod, a self-driving vehicle under development, during CES 2022 in January. LG Omipod was also displayed at Kakao Mobility's first tech conference held in February this year, said the companies.

LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility plan to run a test trial of robot delivery services this year. The former will provide autonomous driving robot systems while the latter will come up with a transportation control system to collaborate on developing an indoor transportation service.

LG Electronics user interface software for cars will be adopted in Kakao Mobility vehicles, said the companies.

The signing ceremony held at the LG Electronics research center in Yangjae, southern Seoul, was attended by LG Electronics Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kim Byoung-hoon and Kakao Mobility CTO Yoo Seung-il.

“We will offer new user experiences and innovative services with Kakao Mobility, the frontrunner in the local mobility service market, utilizing our technologies in infotainment systems, robots, data convergence and communication,” said Kim.

“Kakao Mobility came up with competitive transportation services based on advanced ICT technological capabilities,” said Yoo. “We will also do our part in establishing an ecosystem in the industry by actively seeking for and supporting capable startups.”

Kakao Mobility reported a net profit of 27.5 billion won last year from the previous year’s net loss of 37.6 billion won. The annual revenue was 546.5 billion won in 2021, up 95 percent on year.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]