LG Chairman Koo to embark on US trip to oversee battery, AI projects

Koo Kwang-mo, chair of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG, will embark on a weeklong business trip to the US next week to seek new growth drivers while checking on the progress of LG’s battery and artificial intelligence projects in North America.

His US visit, which comes a couple of weeks ahead of the sixth anniversary of his assumption of the LG Group chair role on June 29, will mark his first trip to the country since August 2023.

He took office as chair and chief executive of LG Corp., the conglomerate’s holding firm, in June 2018.

His itinerary next week includes a visit to Ultium Cells Spring Hill in Tennessee, an electric vehicle battery joint venture between LG Energy Solution Ltd. and General Motors Co.

LG Energy Chief Executive Kim Dong-myung is expected to accompany LG Chairman Koo to the Tennessee plant.

The LG-GM joint venture, Ultium Cells LLC, put the Spring Hill factory with a production capacity of 35 gigawatt hours (GWh) into operation in March.

LG Energy, the world’s second-largest battery maker, operates another Ultium Cells plant in Ohio and is building a third JV in Michigan.

LG Energy, a unit of Korea’s top chemicals maker LG Chem Ltd., has been increasing investment to expand its presence in the US market.

Koo’s US trip last year focused on promoting LG’s three key growth drivers, or “ABC,” referring to artificial intelligence, bio and clean tech.

KOO’S TRIP TO SILICON VALLEY

Koo’s visit to the Ultium Cells plant next week comes amid a slower-than-expected consumer uptake of electric cars in the US and globally.

In the first quarter, LG Energy saw its quarterly operating profit decline 75.2% from a year earlier to 157.3 billion won ($114 million), weighed by slower battery sales. Its first-quarter sales fell 30% to 6.13 trillion won.

Industry watchers said the LG chair is also expected to travel to Silicon Valley to see in person the latest technology trends and visit the startups LG has invested, including battery management firm Element Energy Inc., in which LG Technology Ventures has a stake, and AI robotics company Figure AI and AI research lab Hume AI.

Koo said in 2022 that LG will invest 2 trillion won over the next five years in green projects related to biomaterials, recycling of used batteries and plastics, and carbon-neutral technologies as part of its efforts to transform into an eco-friendly business group.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at why29@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.