LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo told roughly 40 senior executives that AI is now "a core pillar that will determine our future competitiveness" and ordered faster investment and execution across the conglomerate's major affiliates. The directive came during an eight-hour executive meeting on September 16 at the LG Academy in Icheon, where leaders from LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek, LG Chem, LG Energy Solution, and LG Uplus reviewed investment strategies and set priorities for the group's AI push.
"AI is no longer an area where we can choose whether or not to respond," Koo said. "I ask our executives to move with speed and persistent execution so that we can win in the key battlegrounds of AI."
Four investment priorities emerge from the meeting
The executives identified four areas as central to LG's AI strategy: AI factories, physical AI, semiconductor materials and substrates, and AI transformation. They examined how each area is reshaping industrial and technology sectors, then reviewed existing investment results and debated forward-looking strategies.
The group agreed to set investment priorities based on the objectives and portfolio strategies of each business unit. Leaders also committed to building clearer scenarios and validation procedures that account for shifts in markets, competition, and technology. LG plans to accelerate decision-making to capture investment opportunities at the right time and concentrate resources where they will strengthen execution.
People-first AI remains the operating principle
Beyond investment mechanics, the executives discussed the direction of LG's AI business. They reaffirmed an approach that puts people, rather than technology itself, at the center. The goal, as framed in the meeting, is using AI to deliver tangible improvements in people's lives - not deploying technology for its own sake.
The September session was the third quarterly executive meeting LG has held this year to sharpen its business portfolio. The March meeting covered AI transformation, and the June meeting focused on winning research and development. The latest gathering extended that sequence by locking in investment strategy as the next phase of execution. For professionals tracking how large enterprises turn AI for Executives & Strategy from talking points into capital allocation, the meeting offers a concrete case study.
Why this matters for executives and strategy leaders
LG's move signals that AI investment is shifting from experimental budgets to core capital planning at the conglomerate level. The explicit focus on AI factories and physical AI points to operational deployment, not just software or cloud-based tools - a reminder that AI for Operations is becoming a boardroom-level conversation. For strategy leaders, the takeaway is clear: if your organization still treats AI investment as optional or exploratory, competitors are already locking in priorities and compressing decision timelines.
Your membership also unlocks:
