[Valuable Intellectual Property] Unveiling the Brain Structure of the Inventor King (ft. LG Innotek)

Patent Office Selected 'Inventor of the Year' Researcher Seonguk Lee
Improved Camera Zoom Function... Also Awarded CES Innovation Award
LG Innotek Operates Employee Invention Encouragement and Reward System

Lee Seong-guk, a senior researcher at LG Innotek (pictured), was selected as the 'Inventor of the Year' by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) annually. This news was announced on Inventors' Day (May 19) last month. Inventors' Day was designated to commemorate the day when the world's first rain gauge was invented (May 19, 1441). On this day, an award ceremony is also held to boost the morale of inventors.

◆Improvement of Smartphone Camera Zoom Function= To confirm the qualities of the Inventor of the Year, we recently met the researcher in person at LG Innotek's headquarters located in Magok-dong, Seoul. Born in 1984, Lee joined LG Innotek in 2010 and has been working on developing camera modules and actuators (lens driving devices). When asked about his thoughts, he joked, "I think I received a bigger award than the work I did deserves." He added, "This development (invention) is not something one can do alone. I believe I received it on behalf of my colleagues."

The technology that Lee and his team invented is related to smartphone cameras. You may have experienced a drop in image quality at certain zoom levels when zooming in to capture distant subjects. To prevent this image degradation, Lee developed a core technology that implements the zoom function, previously applied only in professional cameras like DSLRs, into mobile phones. To put it more technically, it is an 'optical image stabilization technology for reliably implementing a high-magnification optical continuous zoom camera module.' This technology enables anyone to take professional-level photos using just a smartphone. Lee also won an Innovation Award at CES held in the U.S. last December with this technology. Optical continuous zoom also contributes to the national economy through exports.

◆'Collaboration' in the Inventor's Mind= "Invention is essentially technology development. After working in this field for over 10 years, I realize that development can never be done alone. Above all, developers must have a collaborative attitude."

He emphasized communication with colleagues in development. Creating a single technology requires cooperation not only among developers but also with employees from various departments. Samples must be made, feasibility for mass production must be examined, and quality concerns must be addressed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee traveled back and forth to factories in China with over 100 colleagues over several months. One employee even spent four weeks in quarantine in a windowless dormitory in China. He dedicated three full years to this technology. LG Innotek fully supported the technology development by chartering flights.

Lee said, "The company provided an environment where employees could invent freely and motivated them." He also mentioned that there was little worry about 'how much the research would cost' during the technology development process. Ideas were protected, and achievements were rewarded. This is called the 'Employee Invention Compensation System.' LG Innotek has been implementing this system for employees since 1978. The company encourages inventions through various incentives and awards for researchers' inventions. Outstanding patents are displayed on the company's 'Patent Wall' to boost pride.

'Inventor of the Year' Senior Researcher Seonguk Lee is taking a photo in front of the Patent Wall at LG Innotek headquarters. Established in 2019, the Patent Wall aims to boost inventors' pride and motivate invention. It started by displaying 50 patents and is updated annually.

◆Turning Everyday Inconveniences into 'Inventions'= Lee transformed inconveniences he experienced in daily life into ideas and inventions. When he was a new employee, he won first place in an internal idea contest with an idea inspired by his own difficulty in pulling out a car in a cramped supermarket parking lot. He thought, "It would be great if the car could remotely start and move forward just enough to open the driver's door." A few years later, a global automobile company implemented this idea exactly as he had imagined.

Lee also envisioned a technology where car windows automatically roll up and the recirculation mode activates when entering a tunnel, which was commercialized several years later. For example, electric vehicles made by Hyundai and Kia automatically close windows upon entering a tunnel and reopen them to their original state after passing through. He sometimes wonders what would have happened if he had filed a patent first. Lee said, "It is important to document your ideas as intellectual property rights to guarantee your rights."

However, Lee is already a 'patent king' at LG Innotek, having filed 116 domestic patents and 147 overseas patents. He stated, "I will continue to invent technologies and products that predict future demand and create differentiated value."