LG pledges to create 39,000 jobs for young people

LG Group, the fourth-largest conglomerate in South Korea, on Thursday pledged to create a total of 39,000 new jobs over the next three years.

The group’s Chairman and CEO Koo Kwang-mo unveiled the plan during a meeting with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum at LG Science Park in Magok, western Seoul. The meeting was attended by the top brass of LG Group, including Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo and President Lee Bang-soo.

The meeting was part of the Korean government’s youth employment project, called “On-Going,” to address issues faced by young Koreans in the job market.

LG is the third participating group, following Samsung and KT.

The three groups altogether have pledged to add a total of 81,000 jobs through the government program by 2024.

According to the plan announced by LG, the group will directly hire 10,000 employees each year for the next three years, and create 9,000 jobs through indirect support for related industries.

The plan also increased a 150 billion-won ($127.4 million) investment in startups, which would add around 2,000 jobs.

“As a businessman, I think the most important mission for me is to create jobs,” said LG CEO Koo. “LG will lead investments in future cutting-edge technologies and create high-quality jobs through the investments, beyond LG and across society.”

Despite the group’s split of LX Group in May and the closure of its smartphone business, LG is pledging to increase its employment by 10 percent a year, a group official explained.

Working with universities, LG will expand the number of majors and departments that will help connect students find related jobs at LG affiliates after graduation, particularly in the fields of lithium-ion batteries and artificial intelligence. This will have the effect of generating around 5,800 new jobs, according to the group.

LG Energy Solution, the battery maker of LG Group, said it has established a department for lithium-ion batteries at the engineering school of Yonsei University.

From next year, Yonsei’s Graduate School of Engineering will recruit undergraduates for master’s and Ph.D. degrees, who will be guaranteed jobs at LG Energy Solution.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)