LG Electronics Vice Chairman Jo Seong-jin said on Jan. 9 that the company will not give up the smartphone business despite controversy over its poor performance. In the robot field that the company advanced ahead of its global competitors, he introduced a strategy to pursue diversity of functions by citing "fun robots" that do a dance of K-pop star BTS.
At a press conference held in Las Vegas on Jan. 9 (local time), Vice Chairman Jo said, "We are not thinking about getting out of (smart phone) because we are taking all of our smart phone-related business portfolios such as cars and home appliances."
Regarding negative predictions that LG Electronics' wireless business headquarters will make losses for 15 consecutive quarters by the fourth quarter of last year, Vice Chairman Jo said, "Outsiders see our mobile phone business as frustrating and insecure. But we expect that LG Electronics' smartphone-related technology will have a positive impact on other businesses."
Regarding the robot business, which is currently being developed by the company as a future growth business, Jo said, "It will take at least two years for the robot business to break even in profit and loss as a whole." He explained that LG Electronics' robot business will be developed into five major pillars.
"They are home, commercial, public, industrial, wearable, and fun (entertainment) types. We are currently testing the lawn-mowing robot in the U.S. and running it at a golf course in Korea on an experimental basis," Jo said.
On the cloud home appliances, Jo said, "Software plays a big role in performance of washing machines and refrigerators. Software companies such as Amazon will be able to enter the hardware businesses. In this situation, will we be able to survive as a company that produces only washing machines and refrigerators? We will make a plan if we get a chance."
