[Interview] Lee Sang-ho, CEO of LS Eco: "Europe and Vietnam Submarine Cable Projects to Fully Launch by Year-End at the Earliest"

LS Eco Energy and Two Other CEOs
Financial Experts with a 'Bold Investment' Belief
Overseas Projects to Be Decided by Year-End
Building Korea-Vietnam-North America-Europe Lines
Confident in Surpassing Global Big 3 Companies
Vision as a Rare Earth Value Chain Company

Lee Sang-ho, CEO of LS Eco Energy, spends a week traveling across the country. In addition to his role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of LS Cable & System, he concurrently serves as CEO of three companies: LS Eco Advanced Materials, a copper wire manufacturer, and Korea Future Materials, which handles recycled copper. LS Eco Advanced Materials is located in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, and Korea Future Materials is in Gunsan, Jeonbuk. He has to frequently travel between Seoul, Anyang in Gyeonggi-do where LS Cable & System’s headquarters are located, as well as Gumi and Gunsan. Additionally, once every one to two months, he visits Vietnam, where LS Eco Energy’s production subsidiary is based.

The main reason why this finance expert took on the management of three companies is investment. As a financial professional, he believes that investment decisions must be bold rather than solely pursuing stability.

Lee Sang-ho, CEO of LS Eco Energy, is being interviewed by Asia Economy in his office at the LS building in Yongsan, Seoul. Photo by Huh Young-han younghan@

In an interview with Asia Economy held on the 8th at LS Yongsan Tower in Seoul, CEO Lee emphasized the importance of investment. He said, "Although LS Eco Energy is currently making good profits, if we do not continue investing, it is questionable whether we can maintain the same position in 10 years," adding, "Even if it is difficult, we must invest more aggressively and execute more."

The emphasis on investment stems from his belief that it can open new markets. CEO Lee’s greatest interest lies in LS Eco Energy’s entry into new businesses. They are currently exploring submarine cable projects in the UK and Vietnam, which are expected to be fully launched as early as this year. If the UK and Vietnam approve their respective submarine cable projects, LS Eco Energy will begin establishing submarine cable factories. Lee said, "Whether in Europe (the UK) or Vietnam, I expect the submarine cable business to be fully launched as early as this year," adding, "If submarine cables are produced in Vietnam, we can also target markets in Malaysia, India, and Australia." Through this, LS Eco Energy plans to build a 'Korea-Vietnam-Europe-North America' submarine cable production base within a few years alongside LS Cable & System, aiming to catch up with the global 'Big 3' companies such as Prysmian (Italy), Nexans (France), and NKT (Denmark).

Currently, Vietnam PTSC is promoting a submarine cable project connecting to Singapore. PTSC is a subsidiary of PetroVietnam Group, a state-owned oil and gas company in Vietnam. Since PTSC possesses technology for manufacturing and installing offshore wind power equipment and components, LS Eco Energy sees a possibility of jointly winning offshore wind power projects in Vietnam with PTSC. The Vietnamese government plans to build offshore wind farms with a capacity of 91 GW (gigawatts) by 2050.

CEO Lee evaluated the development potential of Vietnam’s offshore wind industry as very high. He said, "The southeastern coast of Vietnam has shallow waters and good wind quality," adding, "The electricity generated from the wind farms can be transmitted not only to Singapore but also to Malaysia, Australia, and India through our submarine cables." He believes that demand for submarine cables will inevitably increase accordingly.

CEO Lee also expects the European submarine cable factory project to be finalized as early as the end of this year. Last month, LS Eco Energy secured the priority negotiation rights to lease a submarine cable project site at the Port of Tyne in northeast England together with the UK energy investment firm Global Interconnection Group (GIG). GIG is promoting a multi-trillion won UK-Iceland 1,600 km submarine cable connection project. Lee said, "After discussions with UK authorities, there is a welcoming atmosphere for LS’s participation in the project with Iceland."

If the plan proceeds as scheduled, LS Eco Energy will secure a global submarine cable supply chain together with its parent company LS Cable & System. CEO Lee expressed confidence that they could even surpass the 'Big 3' companies.

LS Eco Energy Vietnam Manufacturing Corporation exterior view. [Photo by LS Eco Energy]

CEO Lee is envisioning a bigger picture. He said, "With the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), a renaissance of all electrical products has arrived," and he is confident that an era will come where electricity is shared by connecting wires. Using the time difference between the US and Europe as an example, he explained, "When it is morning in the US East Coast, it is evening in Europe, so electricity demand peaks differ," adding, "If thousands of kilometers of cables are laid, a scenario where electricity needed in the US East Coast is shared with Europe is possible."

Based on soaring electricity demand, LS Eco Energy is expected to show strong performance this year. However, when he took office last year, such strong performance was not anticipated. He said, "If I had known the performance would be this good, I might have reconsidered taking on the concurrent roles," adding, "Last year, when I took charge of the materials business, I was focused on how to efficiently manage, integrate, and strategize the business." He added, "I worked to set a strategic direction rather than focusing on profits and losses." Regarding this year’s performance, he said, "Thanks to exports of products for US data centers, we expect to record the highest performance ever," adding, "Exports of UTP (LAN) cables from the Vietnam factory to the US are still in the early stages, so growth potential is high."

He is also accelerating the rare earth business for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles. CEO Lee’s vision is to develop LS Eco Energy into the only company in Korea to establish a rare earth value chain.

Within this year, Vietnam mining company Hung Tin Minerals plans to separate and refine rare earth minerals monazite from local mines and supply oxides such as neodymium and dysprosium. If the supply of rare earth oxides is smooth, they plan to start construction of a permanent magnet metal factory inside the local subsidiary LSCV’s plant. Hung Tin Minerals signed a contract in January with LS Eco Energy to purchase 200 tons of rare earth oxides for permanent magnets. CEO Lee said, "We plan to start construction of a rare earth metal alloy factory on the site of the Ho Chi Minh LSCV plant," adding, "In the ongoing US-China conflict, this will have a 'de-Chinaization' effect on rare earths."