Koo Bon-jun LX Group's 1st Anniversary: "We Must Prepare for the Future with Speed"

Achieving Both External Growth and Internal Stability Since Inception
Entry into Biomass Power Generation Business with Acquisition of Hanguk Yurigongup
"New Business is the Most Important Foundation for Future Corporate Growth"

▲Koo Bon-joon, Vice Chairman of LG. (Provided by Koo Bon-joon)

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] LX Group, which has become independent from LG Group and started standing on its own, has celebrated its first anniversary. As it nears the final stages of its affiliate separation process, it is preparing for a new leap forward by expanding investments to secure future growth engines.

According to the business community on the 3rd, LX Group officially launched on May 3rd last year with the establishment of the holding company LX Holdings. Centered around Chairman Koo Bon-joon, the group has achieved growth in both asset size and performance over the past year.

Born in 1951, Chairman Koo is the third son of the late Koo Ja-kyung, the 2nd chairman of LG Group. He joined Geumseong Semiconductor in 1985 and served as CEO at LG Semiconductor, LG Philips LCD (now LG Display), LG Sangsa (now LX International), and LG Electronics, leading the companies to growth.

After the passing of LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo in 2018 and the appointment of his nephew Koo Kwang-mo as group chairman, he stepped down from frontline management and became independent last year with companies such as LX International, LX Hausys, LX Semicon, LX MMA, and LX Pantos.

In its first year of independence, LX Group solidified both external growth and internal stability. The group's asset size increased by 24.0%, from 8.093 trillion KRW (separate basis) at the end of 2020 to 10.0374 trillion KRW at the end of last year. By total assets, it ranks within the top 40 in the domestic business community.

Strong performance was achieved mainly through global logistics and semiconductor businesses. Last year, the total sales and operating profit of LX Group affiliates were 22.8099 trillion KRW and 1.2591 trillion KRW respectively, representing increases of 42.3% in sales and 212.8% in operating profit compared to the previous year.

LX International, the group's flagship affiliate, recorded an operating profit of 656.2 billion KRW last year, up 310.6% from the previous year, marking the largest scale ever. Semiconductor affiliate LX Semicon (formerly Silicon Works) also achieved a record high surplus with 369.6 billion KRW, a 292.4% increase from the previous year.

Chairman Koo's new business plans are also gaining momentum. Following the acquisition of Korea Glass Industry for 600 billion KRW in March, the group purchased a 63.3% stake in the domestic biomass power plant 'Poseung Green Power' for about 100 billion KRW last month.

Additionally, news of new businesses and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continues, including the reported pursuit of acquiring MagnaChip Semiconductor, a mid-sized system semiconductor company.

Going forward, LX International is expected to lead business diversification, with the semiconductor business centered on LX Semicon drawing attention as another growth axis. Furthermore, at last month's regular shareholders' meeting, LX added finance as a new business sector. There are expectations that LX will establish a corporate venture capital (CVC) led by the company.

Koo Bon-joon, Chairman of LX Holdings, emphasized in his New Year's address earlier this year, "New businesses are the most important foundation for a company's future growth," urging, "We must secure new growth engines and prepare for the future with a sense of urgency."

LX Group recently submitted an affiliate separation application to the Fair Trade Commission and has begun the finalization process. Koo Hyung-mo, the eldest son of Chairman Koo and a strong candidate for the next successor, strengthened his position within the group by being promoted from director to executive director of the management planning division in March.