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LG gets jump-start on year-end review of affiliates

Published: 23 Oct. 2025, 17:30

The LG logo is seen at LG Electronics' headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 7. [YONHAP]

LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is set to receive a monthlong series of business briefings from affiliates, kicking off earlier than any of the other top four conglomerates — Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor — in drawing up its business blueprint for next year.

The 2026 business report sessions for LG affiliates began Thursday and will run for about a month, according to the Korean conglomerate. The briefings will start with electronics affiliates such as LG Electronics and LG Display, followed by LG Chem and LG Energy Solution in chemicals, LG U+ and LG CNS in telecommunications and LG Household & Health Care in services.

The report sessions are structured for each affiliate’s CEO to present the year’s performance and the strategy for the upcoming year directly to the chairman. These are not discussions, but strictly presentation-style sessions followed by Koo’s feedback. Since taking the helm in 2018, he has presided over the briefings every year without exception.

This year’s sessions come right after Koo returned from a golf round with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida, placing the United States at the forefront of agenda items. While the situation varies by affiliate, preparations are underway to comprehensively review issues related to the country — including tariffs, local investments and supply chain strategies.

Outcomes from the briefings are expected to be reflected in the upcoming executive reshuffle and organizational restructuring, which is likely to come by the end of next month. In 2021, LG carried out its largest-ever round of promotions, including the appointment of current Vice Chairman Kwon Bong-seok. Since then, the group has alternated between years of stability and change — stability in 2022, change in 2023 and stability again in 2024. Most CEOs were retained last year, except for the head of LG U+.

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo attends a Korea-U.S. business roundtable at the Willard Hotel in Washington on Aug. 25. [YONHAP]

Ahead of this year’s reshuffle, LG appointed an outsider — Lee Sun-joo, formerly of L'Oréal — as the new CEO of LG Household & Health Care on Sept. 29. The move signals a shift toward “renewal” rather than stability. Attention is now on whether another executive will be promoted to vice chairman. LG currently has two vice chairmen — Kwon Bong-seok, COO of LG, and Shin Hak-cheol, CEO of LG Chem — a stark contrast to the six vice chairmen in place when Koo first took over.

Considering that past vice chairmen were typically promoted after leading an affiliate for more than five years, LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan and LG Display CEO Jeong Cheol-dong are being floated as candidates. Cho, who joined GoldStar — the predecessor of LG Electronics — in 1987, delivered stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings despite a difficult business environment due to U.S. tariffs. He recently led a successful initial public offering of the company’s Indian unit, which he credited as having “led to a revaluation of LG Electronics' stock.”

Jeong, who joined LG Semicon in 1984, has headed LG Display since 2023. He is regarded as an expert in production and quality control with a long track record on the ground. The company is expected to return to profitability this year — marking an escape from the red for the first time in four years.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM KI-HWAN [[email protected]]