LG Corporation (or LG Group),[b] formerly known as Lucky-Goldstar,[c] is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is the fourth-largest chaebol (family-run conglomerate) in South Korea. Its headquarters are in the LG Twin Towers building in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul.[3] LG makes electronics, chemicals, household appliances, and telecommunications products and operates subsidiaries such as LG Electronics, Zenith, LG Display, LG Uplus, LG Innotek, LG Chem, and LG Energy Solution in over 80 countries. According to the “Top 500 Global Brands” released by British consulting firm Brand finance, LG's brand value ranking rose from 90th to 83rd from the previous year.
 Logo used since 30 December 2014[a] | |
 | |
Native name | 주식회사 엘지 |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Lucky (1947–1983) Lucky-Goldstar (1983–1995) |
| Company type | Public |
| KRX: 003550 | |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | 5 January 1947 (as Lucky) January 1983 (as Lucky-Goldstar) 4 January 1995 (as LG) |
| Founder | Koo In-hwoi |
| Headquarters | , South Korea |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Revenue | KRW 83.5 trillion (approx. US$62.32 billion) (2023)[1] |
| Owners |
|
Number of employees | 222,000 (2023)[3] |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | lgcorp |
History
editLG Corporation was established as Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Corp. in 1947 by Koo In-hwoi.[4] In 1952, Lak Hui (락희) (pronounced "Lucky"; now LG Chem) became the first South Korean company to enter the plastics industry. As the company expanded its plastics business, it established GoldStar Co. Ltd. (now LG Electronics Inc.) in 1958. Both companies Lucky and GoldStar merged to form Lucky-Goldstar in 1983.[5]
GoldStar produced South Korea's first radio.[5] Many consumer electronics were sold under the brand name GoldStar, while some other household products (not available outside South Korea) were sold under the brand name of Lucky. The Lucky brand was famous for hygiene products such as soaps and HiTi laundry detergents, but the brand was mostly associated with its Lucky and Perioe toothpaste. LG continues to manufacture some of these products for the South Korean market.
Koo In-hwoi led the corporation until his death in 1969, at which time, his son Koo Cha-kyung took over. He then passed the leadership to his son, Koo Bon-moo, in 1995. Koo Bon-moo renamed the company to LG in that year.[5] The company then trademarked the letters LG with the company's tagline "Life's Good". Since 2009, LG has owned the domain name LG.com.
Koo Bon-moo died of a brain tumor on 20 May 2018.[6] In July 2018, it was announced that Koo Kwang-mo, the nephew and adopted son of Koo Bon-moo, will be the new CEO of LG. Koo Bon-moo adopted his nephew in 2004, after losing his only son in 1994,[7] citing "a family tradition of male-only succession".[8]
LG jingle
edit| LG jingle | |
|---|---|
 Sample of the jingle [0:03] via |
The G-E-F-D-E-C-C' jingle was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa (who had previously composed the Intel bong) in 2008. The jingle has been featured in LG commercials and devices and is recognised worldwide.[citation needed]
Logo history
edit-
4 January 1995 – 29 December 2014 -
2008–29 December 2014 -
30 December 2014–present -
May 2023–present (secondary)
Corporate governance
editAs of September 2023
| Shareholder | Stake (%) | Flag |
|---|---|---|
| Koo Kwang-mo | 15.95% | 
|
| National Pension Service | 6.83% |
|
| Silchester International Investors | 6.03% | 
|
| Koo Bon-sik | 4.48% |
|
| Kim Young-sik | 4.20% |
|
| Koo Bon-neung | 3.05% |
|
| Koo Yeon-kyung | 2.92% |
|
| LG Yonam Foundation | 2.13% |
|
| Koo Bon-joon | 2.04% |
|
| LG Yonam Cultural Foundation | 1.12% |
|
| Koo Yeon-soo | 0.72% |
|
| Kim Sun-hye | 0.69% |
|
| Koo Mi-jung | 0.69% |
|
| Lee Uk-jin | 0.61% |
|
| Koo Hyung-mo | 0.60% |
|
| LG Evergreen Foundation | 0.48% |
|
| Koo Ja-young | 0.34% |
|
| LG Welfare Foundation | 0.23% |
|
Businesses
edit
LG Corporation is a holding company that operates worldwide through more than 30 companies in the electronics, chemical, and telecom fields. Its electronics subsidiaries manufacture and sell products ranging from electronic and digital home appliances to televisions and mobile telephones, from thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal displays to security devices and semiconductors. In the chemical industry, subsidiaries manufacture and sell products including cosmetics, industrial textiles, rechargeable batteries and toner products, polycarbonates, medicines, and surface decorative materials. Its telecom products include long-distance and international phone services, mobile and broadband telecommunications services, as well as consulting and telemarketing services. LG also operates the Coca-Cola Korea Bottling Company, manages real estate, offers management consulting, and operates professional sports clubs.[10]
Subsidiaries
editJoint ventures
editLG and Hitachi created joint ventures named Hitachi-LG Data Storage in 2000 and LG Hitachi Water Solutions in 2011; among other partnerships it has had, LG has a long relationship with Hitachi dating back to the early years of Goldstar. Since then Hitachi has transferred technologies for LG's products such as radios, wires, TVs, home appliances, semiconductors, etc. The first joint venture between the two is LG Hitachi, which has been around since 1980s when it was established to import computers to Korea.[11]
LG had two joint ventures with Royal Philips Electronics: LG Philips Display and LG Philips LCD, but Philips sold off its shares in late 2008.[12]
In 2005, LG entered into a joint venture with Nortel Networks, creating LG-Nortel Co. Ltd.
In 2020, LG and Canadian auto supplier Magna International launched a joint venture known as LG Magna e-Powertrain. The new joint venture will manufacture components used in electric cars such as electric motors, inverters and onboard chargers.[13]
Associated companies
editSports sponsorship
editLG owns the South Korean professional baseball team LG Twins, and is the main sponsor of basketball team Changwon LG Sakers. LG is also a partner of the American professional baseball team Texas Rangers.[14]
LG also sponsored football clubs Girondins de Bordeaux from 1999 to 2000, Leicester City F.C. from 2001 to 2003, Olympique Lyonnais from 2004 to 2006, AEK Athens from 2006 to 2009, Fulham F.C. from 2007 to 2010 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016.[citation needed]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "LG Electronics | LG Announces 2022 Financial Results" (Press release). LG Communication Center. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ a b c 지분현황 | LG 003550 [Equity Status | LG 003550]. Company Wise (in Korean). FnGuide. n.d. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Corporate information". LG Global. n.d. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "HISTORY — The Official Site of LG Group". lg.net. Archived from the original on 19 November 2008.
- ^ a b c Song, Su-hyun (12 February 2017). "LG founder bequeaths principle of harmony, sustainable growth". The Korea Herald.
- ^ "LG Chair Koo Bon-moo, Who Ran Company for 23 Years, Dies at 73". Fortune. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Kim, Hooyeon; Park, Kyunghee (20 May 2018). "LG Chair Koo Bon-Moo Dies, Leaves Company to Adopted Son". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Lee, Ji-yoon (10 July 2018). "LG's Koo Bon-joon prepares to depart". The Investor. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ "LG updates global brand identity to appeal to Gen Z". Campaign Asia. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ LG.com. "Our Businesses – The Official Site of LG Group". lgcorp.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017.
- ^ 회사소개 | LG히다찌 주식회사 | 연혁 [About the Company | LG Hitachi Co., Ltd. | History]. lghitachi.co.kr (in Korean). n.d. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021.
- ^ "LG and Magna announce billion dollar joint venture in electric car gear". CNBC. Reuters. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Texas Rangers, LG Twins announce partnership agreement" (Press release). Major League Baseball. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Business data for LG Corporation: