LG Chem
Seoul-headquartered chemicals and materials company founded in 1947 as Lucky Chemical. It operates Petrochemicals, Advanced Materials and Life Sciences businesses and is listed on the Korea Exchange.
Industry: Chemicals and advanced materials | Location: Seoul, South Korea | Founded: 1947
About LG Chem
LG Chem is a South Korean chemicals and materials company headquartered at the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul. It runs three businesses: Petrochemicals, Advanced Materials, which covers battery and electronic materials, and Life Sciences. The company's website gives 17,389 employees and reports sales of KRW 45.93 trillion and operating income of KRW 1.18 trillion for 2025.
The company was founded in January 1947 as Lucky Chemical Co., Ltd., starting with cosmetics manufacturing, and was renamed LG Chem in February 1995. It listed on the Korea Stock Exchange in October 1969. In December 2020 it spun off its battery business as LG Energy Solution. Kim Dong-choon is President and chief executive, Cha Dong-seok is chief financial officer, and the independent director Jho Wha-sun chairs the board.
Petrochemicals runs from ethylene and propylene to ABS, PVC, acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers. Advanced Materials covers cathode and separator materials, electronic materials and engineering materials. Life Sciences sells growth hormone, diabetes and oncology products, including Eutropin, Zemiglo and Fotivda. Divisional sales in 2025 were KRW 17.9 trillion for Petrochemicals and KRW 4.1 trillion for Advanced Materials.
Its partnerships include a 2022 cathode joint venture in Gumi with B&M, a subsidiary of Huayou Cobalt, and a 2024 cathode supply contract with General Motors worth KRW 25 trillion. In December 2024 it formed the LG-Eni BioRefining joint venture for hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel, and in September 2025 Toyota Tsusho took an equity stake in the Gumi cathode plant. In September 2023 LG Chem and Huayou signed a memorandum of understanding for a lithium iron phosphate cathode plant in Morocco, with planned capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year and mass production targeted for 2026.
The company says it is committed to net zero by 2050. LG Chem announced second-quarter 2026 results on 31 July 2026, said in July 2026 that it had begun mass supply of semiconductor strippers to Amkor, and announced a collaboration with Volkswagen Group on lightweight mobility materials in September 2026.
Leadership
- Kim Dong-choon, President and Chief Executive Officer; Director
- Cha Dong-seok, President and Chief Financial Officer; Director
- Jho Wha-sun, Chair of the Board; Independent Director
- Kwon Bong-seok, Non-standing Director
- Lee Hyun-joo, Independent Director
- Chun Kyung-hoon, Independent Director
- Lee Young-han, Independent Director
- Shin Hak-cheol, Former Chief Executive Officer