Key Points
- LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is meeting with CEOs to assess annual performance and strategize for 2024.
- The meetings precede a November executive reshuffle, possibly promoting senior leaders like Cho Joo-wan and Jeong Chul-dong.
- These meetings examine key issues tailored to each subsidiary, like supply chain management and market competitiveness.
- Cho, the CEO of LG Electronics, and Jeong, the CEO of LG Display, are potential vice-chairman candidates.
LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is conducting a series of strategic debrief meetings with CEOs from the conglomerate’s various subsidiaries. These meetings will focus on assessing this year’s performance and planning for 2024. These meetings come as LG Group anticipates a major executive reshuffle in November, with potential promotions for some senior leaders, notably LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan and LG Display CEO Jeong Chul-dong.
Starting on October 21, Koo has held meetings with leaders from electronics-related subsidiaries, and he will soon extend these sessions to cover the heads of LG’s other listed companies. LG Group traditionally holds two such meetings annually, with the first focused on medium- to long-term strategy and the second on year-end performance reviews and upcoming business activities. This latter set of meetings helps shape LG’s priorities, including key operational reviews and competitive positioning within each business segment.
While the sessions do not have a one-size-fits-all agenda due to each subsidiary’s unique operating circumstances, they do broadly address supply chain management practices and competitive market standing. Given the timing of these meetings, industry sources believe they will influence the group’s planned personnel restructuring next month.
This year’s reshuffle may raise questions about whether LG will promote a new third vice chairman. LG Group previously had three vice chairmen, but it has only two: LG Chem CEO Shin Cheol and LG Corp. Vice Chairman Kwon Bong-seok, following the retirement of former LG Energy Solution CEO Kwon Young-soo. Both Cho and Jeong are seen as potential candidates for promotion.
Cho, who began his career with LG in 1987 and became CEO of LG Electronics in 2021, has been pivotal in reshaping the company’s portfolio since its exit from the smartphone market. He has concentrated on expanding the company’s B2B offerings, helping LG Electronics achieve consecutive years of record-breaking sales. However, LG Electronics’ Q3 2023 results show a mixed performance, with record revenue of 22.18 trillion won but a year-over-year drop in operating profit by 20.9% to 751.9 billion won.
Jeong, who has been with LG since 1984, currently leads LG Display and has a longstanding background in components and materials. Under his leadership, LG Display has been working to recover from ongoing losses, reducing its Q3 operating loss to 80.6 billion won, a significant improvement from the previous year’s loss of 662.1 billion won. Nonetheless, recovery is slow, and the demand for tablet OLEDs is decreased.
An LG official indicated that while third-quarter earnings are important, they are unlikely to dominate personnel decisions, which are more likely to focus on long-term performance and strategic capabilities.
