[Executive Corner] Innovation Partner for Future Mobility
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By News Reporter
Good product design is all about understanding and meeting customers’ needs. As a leader in the home appliance industry, LG integrates ‘customer-centricity’ into every stage of the design process to ensure its products deliver a more convenient and emotionally satisfying user experience. The company continues to show the way forward, making innovative appliances and smart home solutions for a better life based on its ‘3F’ design philosophy.
The Essence of 3F: Fit, Feel, Finish
“LG uses the term ‘3F’ to refer to the appearance, performance and other tangible and intangible qualities of its products experienced by the customer,” said Chung Wook-jun, vice president and head of H&A Design Lab at LG Electronics’ Life Innovation Design Center. “In essence, 3F is a set of principles that guides the company as it weaves the core values of completeness, ease of use and emotional satisfaction into each product it makes.”
3F stands for Fit, Feel and Finish. ‘Fit’ refers to seamless (zero gap) product design and overall design uniformity, while ‘Feel’ encompasses the smooth and resilient operation of moving parts as well as the satisfying feedback that interfaces, doors and other components provide when handled by users. ‘Finish’ focuses on matching the right colors with the right materials and achieving a clean, consistent aesthetic across product lines. The definition of 3F has gradually expanded over time and now extends to elements such as ergonomics, user experience (UX) optimization and user interface (UI) usability.
Officially introduced in 2001, 3F is now deeply ingrained in the way LG works. The company even formed a specialized organization to focus on 3F, which collaborates closely with several departments – including product planning, design, development, quality control and sales – to maintain a cohesive approach to customer-centric design.
Customer-Centric Design Research
The core aspect of 3F work is to guarantee the completeness of every product LG develops. Through securing a high level of completeness in the development phase, the company helps to prevent potential quality issues from arising during production.
At the concept planning stage, LG identifies and addresses any deficiencies or inconveniences associated with previously released models to prevent their recurrence in new products. Using its own internally developed ergonomic standards, the company thoroughly evaluates products for ease-of-use and to determine if further improvements are needed. Prior to finalization and mass-production, LG re-evaluates its products using up to 160 different criteria to assess whether completeness has been achieved.
When a prototype is produced at the design verification stage, it is tested under actual usage conditions. Data-driven feedback derived from these tests – such as the precise measurement of the force needed to open an appliance’s door – enables the relevant departments to make necessary adjustments.
Quality testing at LG involves extensive processes to ensure products meet usage and reliability standards. Should a product fail any test, LG carefully identifies and addresses the root cause of the issue. Subsequently, the product undergoes hundreds of additional tests until it meets the company’s exacting internal standards. Multiple methods are employed to confirm that each unit produced matches the usability and reliability standards set during the development phase. The data gathered throughout these various processes is meticulously analyzed to refine future designs.
Subtle Details that Reflect LG’s 3F Design Principles
The recently launched LG SIGNATURE washer/dryer exemplifies the company’s commitment to its 3F design principles. Manufactured using the same methods employed to produce luxury goods, the washer/dryer successfully delivers the ‘high-end’ aesthetic and feel of LG’s original design concept. The attention to subtle details that is so much a part of 3F design can be seen in the dryer’s filter grip, which has been designed in accordance with knuckle-width studies and numerous customer acceptance surveys to provide optimal usability.
To enhance the sophistication and operability of the control knobs applied to its washing machines, LG conducted a comprehensive range of 3F research initiatives and even developed its own custom measuring equipment. The company’s efforts led to the creation of a control knob reminiscent of the center-console control dials found in luxury automobiles, providing a pleasingly premium look and feel while also contributing to a better user experience in both a practical and emotional sense.
Introduced last year on select LG refrigerator models, the Auto Soft Closing System is another example of LG’s customer-centric 3F design. The system uses dampers to ensure that the refrigerator door closes softly and quietly, enhancing usability, convenience and customer satisfaction.
The 3F design principle, which reveals LG’s strong commitment to the pursuit of perfection, is intertwined with another uniquely LG concept: ‘Affection-ism.’ Affection-ism could be described as a ‘design mindset,’ centering on caring for customers via the delivery of ‘Uncompromising Customer Experiences,’ ‘Human-centered Innovation’ and the ‘Warmth to Power a Smile.’ By staying true to its core values and customer-first philosophies, LG will continue to provide products that exceed expectations and make everyday life that much better.
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By News Reporter
As the mobility industry shifts towards software-defined vehicles (SDVs), the importance of automotive displays continues to grow. Advanced display technology is already enhancing in-car infotainment systems and user experiences by presenting drivers with a wealth of vehicle and road-related information, while offering passengers an array of entertaining content.
The trend of incorporating larger and more numerous displays within vehicles, often referred to as ‘screenification,’ is elevating the convenience, safety and enjoyment of vehicle occupants, while also influencing vehicle cabin design. OLED panels, known for their superior image quality and unmatched flexibility (both literally and in terms of design), are increasingly being adopted in the premium auto segment.
Market research firm Omdia projects that by 2030, one out of every two information display units used in premium vehicles will be an OLED panel. Several global automakers are now equipping their high-end models with large, high-resolution displays to meet customers’ evolving expectations and preferences. With their stunning colors, clarity and contrast, OLED panels are raising the bar for automotive displays and are expected to drive the market’s continued expansion.
OLED technology makes it possible to create large, curved and flexible screens for use in digital cockpits. In response to the auto industry’s increasing interest in premium displays, the R&D laboratory at LG’s Vehicle component Solutions (VS) Company has recently developed an algorithm for its in-vehicle OLED displays that compensates for any visual distortion related to viewing angle. This advanced technology, first showcased at Display Week 2024, ensures that LG’s automotive OLED screens deliver consistent brightness and distortion-free colors from practically any angle. As a result, drivers can now see images and text more clearly across all parts of the display, enhancing safety by reducing the time needed to check on-screen information.
LG’s new technology overcomes the viewing-angle limitations typically associated with large, curved OLED displays. Currently, LG is the only automotive display supplier to have developed an algorithm that corrects these particular issues and is now in the process of commercializing this innovation.
Research into flexible OLED automotive displays has been a major focus for LG VS Company’s R&D laboratory over the past year. Kim Kyung-lack, vice president of Display Development at LG VS Company, noted that due to extensive and ongoing efforts, LG is able to offer a wide range of automotive displays leveraging next-generation technology to deliver outstanding performance. Since 2022, LG has been developing advanced in-vehicle displays and now boasts an impressive portfolio of solutions, including screens with rollable, flexible and foldable form factors. The company’s diverse offerings provide automakers with more choices when designing vehicle interiors and offer vehicle users a richer, more varied in-car experience.
Beyond automotive displays and components such as EV motors and smart lamps, LG VS Company offers cutting-edge in-vehicle software platforms and solutions. This software integrates seamlessly with the company’s display products to form a complete in-car experience solution, adding significant value for automakers seeking to enhance the functionality of their existing infotainment systems.
Through its innovative solutions for vehicles, LG is accelerating the arrival of the SDV era and playing a leading role in redefining the future of mobility.
To learn more about LG’s advanced automotive display products, visit
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By News Reporter
Company’s Industry-Leading LG UltraGear Gaming Monitors to Support the World’s
Top Pros at Global Festival of Esports in Riyadh
SEOUL, June 26, 2024 — LG Electronics (LG) has been announced as the official partner of the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2024, set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 3 to August 25. Formerly known as Gamers8, EWC is an annual international esports tournament. This year’s edition – the first under the EWC name – will host competitions for 21 of the world’s biggest online games, including League of Legends, Overwatch and Fortnite. The exclusive gaming monitor of the event for the third consecutive year, the LG UltraGear will take center stage at EWC 2024, supporting the world’s top gamers as they battle for victory in Riyadh.
Boasting the largest prize pool of any esports tournament, EWC 2024 promises eight weeks of thrilling gaming action, featuring over 1,500 professional athletes. The acclaimed LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor (model 32GS95UE) will be prominently featured at the event. Additionally, more than 990 UltraGear gaming monitors will be utilized during league matches and showcased at LG’s booth at EWC.
LG UltraGear, the company’s premium gaming brand, provides next-level gaming experiences for both professional athletes and amateur enthusiasts alike. These gaming monitors offer high refresh rates, rapid response times, and vibrant, crystal-clear images; a combination that drives gaming immersion to dizzying new heights.
Along with its premium self-lit screen, the 32-inch LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor (model 32GS95UE) features the world’s first VESA-certified dual-mode technology, ensuring an optimized gaming experience at both UHD 240Hz (ideal for visually stunning, narrative-rich games) and FHD 480Hz (a great choice for fast-paced FPS, MOBA and racing titles). It also incorporates LG’s Pixel Sound technology for more realistic and three-dimensional in-game audio.
LG’s involvement in EWC 2024 is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to advance esports worldwide. In addition to EWC and its predecessor, Gamers8, LG sponsors and actively participates in major gaming competitions such as the League of Legends Champions Korea and the League of Legends EMEA. Through consistent engagement with the gaming community and the exceptional performance and features of its UltraGear gaming monitors, LG has become a respected name in the world of esports.
EWC 2024 attendees can visit LG’s booth to try out the same UltraGear gaming monitors used by their gaming idols throughout the tournament. They can also improve their own gaming skills by taking part in coaching sessions run by the LG-sponsored Gen.G Global Academy. Furthermore, visitors to LG’s booth can win prizes by participating in exciting competitions and events.
“Saudi Arabia’s premier esports festival, EWC is the new destination for esports fans,” said Mohammed Al Nimer, Sales Director at EWCF. “We’re excited to work with partners like LG, who share our passion for gaming and esports-culture, and to have LG UltraGear as the official gaming monitor of the inaugural EWC.”
“It’s a real honor for LG UltraGear to be named the official gaming monitor brand of an esports event as momentous as EWC 2024,” said YS Lee, vice president and head of the IT business unit of LG Business Solutions Company. “Designed to satisfy the needs of both professional and casual gamers, LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitors are tailor-made for next-level gaming experiences.”
For more information about EWC 2024 and the latest LG UltraGear gaming monitors, check out and follow LG UltraGear (
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By News Reporter
Hanok, traditional Korean houses, are renowned for their aesthetic beauty construction and harmonious integration with nature. Inspired by this distinctive architectural form – prized for its energy efficiency, natural ventilation and lighting – LG Spain has constructed an AI-powered home named ‘Another Hanok.’ This innovative abode showcases LG’s latest technological and design advancements and highlights some of the ecologically-focused projects undertaken as part of LG Spain’s ‘Smart Green’ movement.
During the Another Hanok opening ceremony, LG reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the global climate response through its ongoing ESG initiatives and sustainable product solutions. The event was attended by 80 guests, including the president of LG Spain, local and Korean government officials and representatives from various partner companies. Since establishing the Smart Green movement in 2017, LG Spain has developed product solutions aimed at reducing environmental harm while encouraging and fostering community engagement.
Efficient Innovations for Sustainable Dwellings
Self-sufficient, connected and sustainably powered, Another Hanok embraces and embodies LG’s Smart Green philosophy. The house produces, stores, saves and shares clean energy, achieving 100 percent energy independence* through the use of LG’s state-of-the-art technologies as a way to reduce its environmental impact.
Leading up to the entrance of Another Hanok is a beautifully designed pathway that inspires feelings of peace and tranquility while reminding visitors of the pressing environmental issues facing our planet. As visitors approach the house, they encounter a variety of interactive displays and installations that spotlight the challenges of reducing carbon emissions and the urgent need for companies and consumers to adopt responsible practices.
Inside, visitors can explore several spaces, each focused on different aspects of sustainable living. From energy-efficient appliances to advanced HVAC systems, Another Hanok demonstrates how LG’s cutting-edge technologies and solutions can help create a net-zero-energy home. The seamless installation of the LG Therma V R290 Monobloc heat pump contributes to the house’s efficient use of power, while ensuring the reliable heating and cooling for visitor comfort. Conveniently, the solution’s energy consumption can be monitored through the ThinQ Energy Service. Additionally, surplus energy produced by the solar panels installed on the roof of Another Hanok is stored in LG’s energy storage system.
Expanding the Smart Green Movement
Launched in 2017, LG Spain’s Smart Green movement is an initiative that continues to help regenerate local environments and ecosystems. The movement’s goals include planting 48 million trees (Smart Green Trees), repopulating 48 million Iberian bees to ensure the pollination of countless endemic plant species (Smart Green Bees), and reviving the health of the Mediterranean Sea (Smart Green Seas).
The ‘Another Life’ Experience
Another Hanok is a part of LG’s ‘Another Life’ series, a collection of offline experience spaces that provide customers with unique opportunities to interact with LG’s lifestyle-enhancing products. Each of these spaces offers a welcoming atmosphere along with compelling displays and exhibits that promote sustainability and responsible technological innovation. Beginning in South Korea in 2022, the series has since expanded internationally with the addition of sites such as ‘Another Saigon’ in Vietnam.
LG views Another Hanok as a new, more-engaging kind of B2B showroom, where its European B2B clients can see first-hand the company’s strong commitment to achieving carbon neutrality. In the spirit of its Life’s Good philosophy, LG will continue to innovate and inspire, leveraging its technology leadership to help usher in a new era of sustainability.
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* Average yearly photovoltaic (PV) power generation at Another Hanok is 22,030 kWh while average monthly power consumption is 16,870kWh. Actual power generation and power usage may vary.
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By News Reporter
In business, meaningful growth can’t happen without innovation. It’s essential if your organization is to evolve and thrive, and if you’re serious about adding value to people’s daily lives.
With a thirst to drive innovation, and a wealth of knowledge in the area of IoT, I set out to establish and grow my own startup. I’m happy to say I succeeded in this endeavor. However, with the business model being rather narrow – a continuous cycle of making products and then selling them – there were limitations to what I could do.
After making the decision to sell my company, I went on to serve as the Presidential Innovation Fellow for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), a program run by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. It was a valuable and enlightening experience. There, I had the chance to work with leading tech companies to further develop and execute plans for industrial IoT and global smart cities. During my seven years in the U.S. federal government, I realized that there are limits to what governments can do with regard to building smart ecosystems. In the end, private companies are the ones bringing the ideas and concepts of smart solutions and businesses to fruition.
This was when I was first approached by LG Electronics. The company wanted to create a new organization dedicated to the discovery of future businesses. LG offered me this amazing opportunity to head up a team they were in the process of putting together.
I thought deeply about the prospect of joining LG. While the company is universally recognized as a strong player in the consumer electronics field, looking in from the outside, it seemed to lack what some might call, a certain ‘disruptive innovation.’ However, I was intrigued by its determination and desire to uncover future businesses and was confident that the company possessed the agility necessary to change and ‘disrupt.’
Personally, I believe that if there are ten great ideas on the table, seven or eight of them will fail to develop into successful businesses. While many people view this way of thinking about business creation as just plain crazy, LG CEO William Cho is, thankfully, not among them.
At LG NOVA, an initiative I am grateful to lead, our mission is to establish a community for nurturing, growing and creating new businesses in new market areas for LG. Early in the LG NOVA journey, we realized that entering new businesses – or new business areas – is difficult if you’re relying solely on your internal capabilities.
If LG wants to create new home appliances, it is in a good position to do this internally because it is already a global leader in consumer electronics, with all the necessary expertise and experience at its disposal. LG NOVA’s mandate is to explore entirely new and different concepts, not currently in LG’s wheelhouse. Although there are thousands of engineers and experts working in LG’s R&D centers, their expertise is in products and areas of business that LG is already in. This is why the LG executive team resolved to look outside of LG.
Our goal is to explore new business avenues that would, ultimately, help contribute to the advancement of LG Electronics. Startups, by the nature of their business model and ability to be at the ground-level of market needs, are leading the forefront of innovation. However, startups will not partner with just any firm that approaches them. This is why we needed to show that LG, as a company, has the commitment and capability to go far beyond home appliances and TVs. This is where LG NOVA comes in.
To establish ourselves in the market, we came up with the idea of hosting a grand challenge. In September 2021, we announced the launch of
link hidden, please login to view, an annual, global competition for startups where we could identify innovative technologies and business ideas for a better tomorrow. The participating startups were tasked with developing and presenting technology-based solutions for improving daily life, our communities and the planet. The tech areas we asked them to focus on included clean tech, healthcare and future tech/AI. To give you an idea of how it works, imagine there is a startup that creates sensors for use in healthcare devices. They might pitch a scenario or concept where their sensors are deployed in TVs to enable innovative new services. Our own business experts, or entrepreneurs in residence (EIRs), would then work with the startup to assess the feasibility of their idea. In many cases, EIRs would work closely with the startup to develop a relevant, but entirely different business idea that could be exciting to both parties. If the idea was deemed to be viable, and in alignment with LG NOVA’s goals and values, a partnership agreement might result and LG NOVA would launch a new business based on the collaboration. This is how a small, fledgling company can set its unique concept on the fast track to becoming a commercialized product.
Through this process, and by combining our capacity with the startup’s capacity, we can create a joint business where LG has as much ‘skin in the game’ as the startup. And at every step along the way, LG NOVA will be right there with them, from meeting with investors to introducing and marketing the ‘final product’ to customers. Through LG NOVA, we can create new products and services that can make a positive difference – and do it at a much larger scale than a startup could manage, if it were to go it alone.
I am proud to be a part of LG and to help guide LG NOVA into exciting new territories where boundless innovation awaits discovery. And I can say, without exaggeration, that I truly love this role. Ultimately, I’m striving for Innovation for Impact – which also happens to be the motto and the philosophy of LG NOVA. While there are many, many ways to make a profit, we have committed ourselves to achieving profitability in a meaningful way, and to leaving a lasting, positive impact on the world.
By Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, executive vice president of Innovation for LG Electronics, head of LG NOVA
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