LG Electronics to invest at least $39B by 2030

LG Electronics CEO William Cho speaks during a press conference on Wednesday in western Seoul. [LG ELECTRONICS]

LG Electronics will invest at least 50 trillion won ($38.7 billion) by 2030 and boost its annual revenue by more than 50 percent to hit 100 trillion won by the same year.

The electronics company reported 65 trillion won in sales last year.

Of the planned 50-trillion-won investment, half of it will be spent on research and development.

The company will also “reinvent” itself to become a solutions company rather than the home appliance manufacturer title which it has identified itself with for over six decades.

The company will also venture into new businesses including electric vehicle (EV) charging, digital healthcare and the metaverse.

“LG Electronics will not stop at being the best home appliance company that manufactures good products,” CEO William Cho said during a rare press conference held Wednesday in western Seoul where he shared the company's future strategy.

“LG Electronics will challenge itself to become a ‘smart life solutions company’ by connecting customers’ space and experience through innovation in our business model.”

As part of its initiative towards becoming a solutions company, LG Electronics will invest 1 trillion won in the content business for the next five years which will be streamed on its LG Channel.

LG Channel, serviced through the webOS operating system installed on LG Electronics' TV products, has garnered 48 million users from 29 countries, according to the company. LG Electronics aims to expand its webOS applications to TV products from other brands as well.

The company's vehicle component solutions division targets 20 trillion won in sales by 2030, eyeing a more than twofold increase.

“The vehicle component solutions business will grow, focusing on the infotainment system, EV powertrain and advanced lamps,” according to Cho.

“We target becoming the global top 10 vehicle solutions company by 2030.”

The order backlog will accumulate to 100 trillion won by the end of this year, the company said, adding half of it is expected to be dedicated to the infotainment system.

A spin-off is not yet in the cards for the vehicle solutions business, Cho said.

“It is a business that needs to develop quickly, and this needs to be done within LG Electronics.”

The division, which launched 10 years ago, turned a profit for the first time in the second quarter of 2022.

In search of a new growth engine, the company will delve into the digital healthcare business, mostly focusing on prevention, diagnosis and the recovery process rather than treatment. LG Electronics already joined forces with remote medical equipment company Armwell last year to run a pilot project on remote diagnosis solutions.

It also launched its electric vehicle charger business in Korea in partnership with HiEV Charger and will enter the North American, European and Asian markets starting next year.

"Market conditions in the latter half of the year are not expected to be good," said Cho. "We will make up for the decrease in demand with growth in the non-hardware and B2B businesses."

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]