LG Innotek taps global talent to spur growth

LG Innotek, the advanced materials and components maker affiliated with LG Group, is speeding up efforts to recruit outstanding international students to enhance its global competitiveness.

According to the company on Wednesday, a total of 31 international students either from foreign or Korean universities joined this year’s global internship program that was completed earlier this month.

Under the five-week program, the students were allocated to diverse business divisions, including research and development, production, and overseas marketing.

The company also offered extra programs tailored to individual internship participants such as mentorship from a senior official with similar backgrounds or networking opportunities with other foreign students.

LG Innotek has operated the global internship program since 2021. With its overseas sales making up 96 percent of its total revenue worth 20 trillion won ($15 billion), the company has ramped up efforts to enhance its competitiveness in working with global business partners and clients.

Last year, 11 out of 24 interns with strong work performance were selected for permanent positions. The firm plans to encourage foreign international students to learn its domestic business practices and job duties, giving them more chances to work abroad.

"Having a great deal of experience here, I felt that the company set a high value on its personnel. With my foreign language competence, I hope to work as a skilled marketer who communicates with foreign customers and overseas corporations," said Konul Babayeva from Azerbaijan, who entered the company through this program.

As its Vietnamese branch has been growing, LG Innotek has also offered a variety of employment-related programs there through a memorandum of understanding with several local universities, including Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. The company plans to host an "R&D talent conference" in North America this September to recruit proficient individuals with advanced degrees from major universities.

“LG Innotek has been rapidly expanding the scale of its overseas subsidiaries in charge of production and sales abroad. It has become vital to make our global business more competitive in partnership with clients around the world. We will continue to provide exceptional customer value by taking on global talent who can lead our future growth,” said Kim Heung-sik, LG Innotek’s executive vice president and chief human resources officer.