Seoul: LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's leading home appliances maker, announced a record investment of 4.76 trillion won (US$3.3 billion) in research and development (R and D) last year to foster future growth engines.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the company's R and D investment marked an 11.2 percent increase from a year earlier in 2024, reaching the highest mark in its history, as stated in a regulatory filing. This investment represented 5.4 percent of LG Electronics' annual revenue of 87.7 trillion won in 2024, up from 5.1 percent the previous year.
The company highlighted its investment strategy aimed at bolstering competitiveness in future growth engines, focusing on home appliance technologies supported by artificial intelligence, electronic devices for automobiles, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning technologies. Furthermore, LG Electronics plans to invest 4.3 trillion won this year to enhance product quality and develop new models.
In detail, the company intends to allocate 1.16 trillion won to its home appliances business and 936.9 billion won to its automotive electronics business, with 1.7 trillion won dedicated to R and D and infrastructure. The regulatory report also indicated that LG Electronics held 26,566 domestic patents and 69,765 overseas patents as of December, mostly related to technologies in smartphones, televisions, and other major business areas.
Last year, LG Electronics manufactured automotive electronics devices for a record 39.9 million vehicles and achieved all-time high sales of 1.67 trillion won in the home appliances rental business.