LG Electronics

LG Electronics Inc. is a South Korean corporation that makes major appliances and consumer electronics. Its headquarters are in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, and it belongs to LG Corporation—the fourth-largest chaebol in the country. The company is often seen as the flagship of the LG group, alongside the chemical and battery arm LG Chem. Its operations are split into four units: Home Appliance Solution, Media Entertainment Solution, Vehicle Solution, and Eco Solution. The product lineup includes televisions, audio gear, and home appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves, washing machines, dryers, and air conditioners, plus commercial and industrial items. Key technologies tied to the firm are OLED TV displays, the webOS smart TV platform, and the LG ThinQ smart home system. In 1995, LG Electronics bought Zenith, and it holds the largest stake in LG Display, which was the world’s top display company by revenue in 2020. It ranks as the second-largest television manufacturer globally, behind Samsung Electronics. The company runs 128 operations worldwide and employs 83,000 people.

The company began in 1958 as GoldStar, founded after the Korean War to supply the rebuilding nation with locally made electronics and appliances. The launch of national broadcasting boosted the electronics market, and a close partnership with Hitachi helped GoldStar produce South Korea’s first radios, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. GoldStar was the electronics division of Lak-Hui Chemical Industrial Corp., now LG Chem and LG Household & Health Care. In 1970, GoldStar went public, and by 1976 it was making one million televisions each year. On 28 February 1995, GoldStar merged with Lucky Chemical and GoldStar Cable, first becoming Lucky-Goldstar and then LG Electronics.

By 1978, exports had surpassed US$100 million. In 1982, GoldStar opened its first overseas factory in Huntsville, Alabama. In 1994, the brand officially became LG Electronics with a new logo. The next year, it bought US-based TV maker Zenith, fully absorbing it four years later. Also in 1995, LG produced the world’s first CDMA digital mobile handsets, supplying the LGC-330W to Ameritech and GTE in the US, and earned UL certification. In 1998, it developed the first 60-inch plasma TV. A joint venture with Philips in 1999 created LG.Philips LCD, later renamed LG Display.