LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by

Koo In-hwoi Koo In-hwoi (, 26 August 1906 – 31 December 1969) was a South Korean businessman and the founder of LG Group, one of the largest chaebols in South Korea. Life He is the 14th generation descendant of Gu Sa-min (구사민;具思閔) who is th ...

and managed by successive generations of his family. It is the fourth-largest chaebol in South Korea. Its headquarters are in the LG Twin Towers building in

Yeouido-dong Yeoui-dong is a ''dong'' ( neighborhood) of Yeongdeungpo-gu in Seoul, South Korea. Before 1 July 1980 it was called Yeouido-dong. Attractions * National Assembly of South Korea * Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) * Korean Broadcasting System ...

Yeongdeungpo District Yeongdeungpo District () is an administrative district in southwest Seoul, South Korea. Although the origin of the name is uncertain, the first two syllables are thought to be from "''yeongdeung''" (靈登) or "divine ascent", a shamanic rite. T ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. LG makes

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification a ...

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., with ...

, and

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

products and operates subsidiaries such as

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest ''chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered as ...

Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction ( plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highes ...

LG Display LG Display (Korean: LG 디스플레이) is one of the world's largest manufacturers and supplier of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display ( TFT-LCD) panels, OLEDs and flexible displays. LG Display is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, ...

LG Uplus , native_name_lang = ko , romanized_name = , former type = , type = Public , traded_as = , industry = Telecommunications , genre = , fate = , predecessor = LG Telecom , successor = , foundation = , founder = , defunct = , l ...

, LG Innotek,

LG Chem LG Chem Ltd. ( Korean: LG화학), often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was the 10th largest chemical company in the world by sales in 2017. It was first establis ...

, and

LG Energy Solution LG Energy Solution, Ltd. (LGES; ) is a battery company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. LGES is one of the largest battery maker alongside CATL, Panasonic, SK Innovation, and Samsung SDI. History LG Chem Energy Solution Business Division ( ...

in over 80 countries.

History

LG Corporation was established as Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Corp. in 1947 by

. In 1952, Lak Hui (락희) (pronounced "Lucky"; now LG Chem) became the first South Korean company to enter the

plastics industry The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials—commonly called plastics—and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, and transportation. It i ...

. As the company expanded its plastics business, it established

GoldStar GoldStar was a South Korean electronics company established in 1958. The corporate name was changed to LG Electronics and LG Cable on February 28, 1995, after merging with Lucky Chemical. LG Cable was spun off from LG Electronics and changed it ...

Co. Ltd. (now LG Electronics Inc.) in 1958. Both companies Lucky and GoldStar merged to form Lucky-Goldstar in 1983. GoldStar produced South Korea's first

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

. Many

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic ( analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually ...

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 Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from the teeth, a ...

. LG continues to manufacture some of these products for the South Korean market, such as laundry detergent. 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. The company also associates the letters LG with the company's tagline "Life's Good". Since 2009, LG has owned the

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

LG.com. Koo Bon-moo died of a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

on 20 May 2018. 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, citing "a family tradition of male-only succession".

Joint ventures

LG and

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo G ...

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 JV between the two is LG Hitachi, which has been around since 1980s when it was established to import computers to Korea. 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. In 2005, LG entered into a joint venture with

Nortel Networks Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec, ...

, creating LG-Nortel Co. Ltd. In 2020, LG and Canadian auto supplier

Magna International Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 ''Forbes'' Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North Ameri ...

launched a joint venture known as LG Magna e-Powertrain. The new joint venture will manufacture components used in

electric cars An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...

such as electric motors, inverters and onboard chargers.

International markets

On 30 November 2012, comScore released a report of the October 2012 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share that found LG lost its place as second in the U.S. mobile market share to

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

On 20 January 2013, LG has overtaken Apple to become second largest in U.S. market share. On 7 August 2013, comScore released a report of the June 2013 U.S. Smartphone Subscriber Market Share that found LG fell to fifth place in the U.S mobile market share.

Associated companies

GS Group GS Group is a South Korean conglomerate. GS comprises GS Holdings, subsidiaries & affiliates including GS Caltex, GS Retail, GS Shop, GS EPS, GS Global, GS Sports and GS E&C among others. The asset size is 65.4 trillion KRW at the end of 201 ...

LS Group LS Group is a South Korean ''chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or gr ...

LIG Group LIG Nex1 Co., Ltd. (formerly known as NEX1 Future and LG Innotek) is a South Korean aerospace manufacturer and defense company. It was established in 1976 as Goldstar Precision. LIG Nex1 was previously owned by LIG Holdings Company, which in tu ...

* Heesung Group * SPC Group

Structure and financial position

LG Corporation is a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

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 display A thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD) is a variant of a liquid-crystal display that uses thin-film-transistor technology to improve image qualities such as addressability and contrast. A TFT LCD is an active matrix LCD, in cont ...

s to security devices and

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

s. In the chemical industry,

subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sam ...

manufacture and sell products including cosmetics, industrial textiles, rechargeable batteries and toner products,

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...

s, 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 Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...

Korea Bottling Company, manages real estate, offers

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

, and operates professional sports clubs.

Group families

Electronics industries

LG Appliances LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...

* LG Innotek * ZKW Group

Chemical industries

* SEETEC *

LG Household & Health Care LG Household & Health Care is a major South Korean consumer goods company that manages cosmetics, household goods, and beverages business. It is also the South Korean bottler of the Coca-Cola system. Summary History Founded in 1947, Koo In-H ...

** Ĭsa Knox ** Haitai HTB **

The Face Shop The Face Shop () (stylized as THE FACE SHOP) is a South Korea-based cosmetics, skincare and cosmetics manufacturer, retailer and a franchise business. It is a subsidiary of LG Household & Health Care of LG Corporation. Its products includes body, ...

** Beyond ** CNP ** CARE ZONE ** VONIN *

Beverage Company (South Korea) * LG Lever Korea

Telecommunications

* LG U+ * CS Leader * CS ONE Partner *

LG CNS LG CNS Co., Ltd. (Korean: 주식회사 엘지씨엔에스) is a subsidiary of LG Corporation founded in 1987 that provides information technology services including consulting, System Integration, Network Integration, Business Process Outsourcing, ...

* V-ENS * BIZTECH & EKTIMO * Ucess Partners * Monkey House * Pixdix *

G2R GIIR was established in 2004 and is Korea’s first advertising group holding company engaged in investment and management consulting for its subsidiaries, which specialize in advertising and media communications, including advertising, media, a ...

HS Ad HS Ad is an advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its ...

* Twenty Twenty ; Source

Sports sponsorship

LG owns the South Korean professional baseball team

LG Twins LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...

, and is the main sponsor of basketball team

Changwon LG Sakers Changwon LG Sakers are a basketball team located in the city of Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. They play in the Korean Basketball League, and their home arena is Changwon Gymnasium which has a capacity for approximately 6,000 ...

. LG is also a partner of the American professional baseball team Texas Rangers.

Brand ambassadors

* David Warner (2014)

References

{{Commons category, LG Group 1947 establishments in Korea Chaebol Companies based in Seoul Companies listed on the Korea Exchange Conglomerate companies established in 1947 Conglomerate companies of South Korea Electronics companies established in 1947 Electronics companies of South Korea Holding companies established in 1947 Holding companies of South Korea Multinational companies headquartered in South Korea Telecommunications companies of South Korea Pump manufacturers Electric motor manufacturers Mobile phone manufacturers