LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo encouraged employees to “persistently prepare for the future” during his four-day trip to North America that began on Monday, according to the company.

“Looking back at the group’s past growth trajectory, LG Group has consistently been prepared ahead of time, leading new industries for decades,” Koo said. “Although LG Group’s bio business may appear insignificant, I believe it will evolve into a flagship of the group‘s future if we persistently make efforts and embrace challenges.”

Koo’s remarks came as he visited LG Chem Inc.’s Life Sciences Division in Boston. He met with employees and executives, including LG Chem President Son Ji-woong, LG Chem Life Sciences Innovation Center President Lee Dong-soo and AVEO President Michael Bailey.

LG Group has been concentrating on enhancing capabilities and securing competitiveness in the AI, bio, and cleantech sectors, considering them as the driving forces for the group’s future growth.

Over the past year, Koo visited key facilities in these sectors across the country, including the group‘s AI research headquarters, LG Chem’s Life Sciences factory, and LG Chem’s cathode materials factory.

The group has been refining its organizational structure to foster these key sectors for the future while also attracting talent to establish foundational capabilities.

The plan is to cultivate core competencies that can lead and excel in the global market and competition.

Boston serves as a global hub for the bio industry, housing around 2,000 bio-related companies and research institutions worldwide.

In 2019, LG Group established LG Chem Life Sciences Innovation Center Inc., a subsidiary of LG Chem Life Sciences, in Boston, with the aim of introducing innovative technologies in the bio field and pursuing global new drug development.

In January, LG Chem acquired U.S. anti-cancer drug company AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. and integrated its office with LG Chem Life Sciences’ Boston subsidiary, while also expanding collaboration.

During his trip, Koo also visited LG Electronics Inc.’s artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory in Toronto on Tuesday. The Toronto AI lab is the first global AI research hub of the group, established in 2018.

During the visit, Koo assessed the progress of AI initiatives on site and discussed future research and development directions with Bae Kyung-hoon, chief of LG AI Research, Chief Scientist of AI (CSAI) Lee Hong-lak, and LG Electronics Chief Technology Officer Kim Byung-hoon.

Koo is known to have emphasized that AI will be a “significant game-changer” igniting innovation across all industries in the future.

By Choi Seung-jin and Chang Iou-chung

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