'Value for Customer Management'

LG Group plans to invest more than 10 tln won during 2008

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo urged his group to pursue continued growth through "Value for Customer Management."Koo told his group executives and staff members during a New Year's meeting held at the LG Twin Tower Building in Yeouido, "Now we are standing on the threshold of a full-blown growth phase. When the staff pursues its love for our customers and strives to make the future ours with wisdom and passion, the vision 'First LG'will become a reality, not a dream."The chairman declared as his management motto "Value for Customer Management"for the third straight year. In 2006, he appealed for management to attach a top priority on value for customers. In 2007, he called for taking the lead in changing the future through value for customer management.
To this end, Koo first urged his group to continue to campaign for the pursuit of the core value of the customer as the top priority. "When you make more than what customers want and what they have never thought of by capitalizing on an insight into the present and the future, customers will be on our side,"he said. Koo stressed that top-rated products and differentiated designs will grab customer's hearts and perfection-pursuing services will create another value: impressing customers.
Second, he urged his group to put into practice action plans for bracing for the future. Koo told his group to ratchet up the existing businesses one stage higher by stepping up capabilities in production innovation, R&D and marketing and to build up a system to nurture gifted manpower who will take the lead in the future.
Third, he called for the establishment of a creative corporate culture. Koo appealed for his staff to create a new environment where they choose a right, principal path at a difficult time and always create new things by approaching challenges without fear of failure. An open-minded organization with active exchanges of ideas and a shift into a challenging spirit and profound entrepreneurship are essential for creating value for customers and bracing for the future, said Koo, adding that they can build up a dynamic corporate culture when individuals'expertise is harmonious on the basis of the "LG Way."For the LG Business Group, 2007 was a turnaround year as its subsidiaries chalked up an aggregate of more than 3 trillion won in earnings, recovering from a slump in 2006. The conglomerate, with a thick pocket, is now about to make massive investments in 2008.
LG subsidiaries plan to pour an aggregate of 10 trillion won in areas including the system air-conditioner for LG Electronics, the 3G telecommunication sector for LG Telecom and the eighth-generation LCD assembly line for LG Phillips.
LG Electronics is planning to set aside 3 trillion won in facility investments and R&D outlays for 2006, similar to those made in 2007. A considerable portion of the investment amounts will go into the development of handsets.
LG Electronics, which sold a record high of 80 million handsets in Korea and abroad, aims to break the 100 million unit mark this year. The company plans to release more models during 2008: premium cellular phones targeting the North American and European markets and low- and medium-priced handsets targeting Southeast Asian and Indian markets. LG Electronics, which sold 5 million units in the Middle Eastern and African markets, has a goal of registering 100 percent growth, while setting its sales target for Brazil at more than 1 million units per month.
LG Philips plans to invest 2.5 trillion won into a project to build the eighth generation LCD assembly line in the Paju LCD cluster north of Seoul, which is to be inaugurated in early 2009. The soon-to-be LCD plant capable of churning out 50-inch LCD panels is forecast to meet a rise in the demand for large-sized LCD panels. LG Philips, a late-comer in the operation of the eighth generation LCD assembly lines, is expected to cut down on costs since it is making its investments after the LCD market has already begun building up.
LG Philips will continue to pour investments into the development of next-generation displays, including flexible displays like electronic-paper.
LG Chem, which made a dramatic turnaround last year, plans to raise this year's investments by some 10 percent over last year. The company, which focused on facility efficiency and cost reduction until last year, plans to make investments to maintain full-blown growth. nw

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo