(CES) LG CEO says CES exhibition is to show potential

On the Record: Executive Interviews 08:00 January 06, 2023

By Woo Jae-yeon

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Inc. made efforts to present its potential through a wide range of products and solutions at CES 2023, its top executive said Thursday.

"Now that the pandemic is over, we thought it is time to display our real products and solutions so that we can show our potential," CEO Cho Joo-wan told Yonhap News Agency outside LG Electronics' booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan speaks at a press conference on Jan. 4, 2023, ahead of the opening of CES 2023 in Las Vegas. (Yonhap)

At CES 2023, which kicked off earlier in the day, LG made a full display of its latest innovations, including the 72-inch wireless OLED M, the color-changing MoodUp refrigerator and the sleep aid device brid.zzz, among many others.

The South Korean tech company returned to a fully offline event at this year's global technology show, a switch from last year's virtual tour that was met with mixed responses from visitors.

The highlights of the exhibition, Cho said, are LG's OLED TV series and UP upgradable home appliances represented this year by the MoodUP refrigerator.

Visitors watch a video played on LG's giant OLED wave wall at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Jan. 5, 2023. (Yonhap)

Early last year, the company launched upgradable home appliances to better serve consumers' varying needs, in what it said could be a major shift from selling products to offering improved consumer experiences, as well as a significant change in the way it communicates with users in order to deliver new value.

The upgrades are available through software updates and installing accessories and modular equipment in existing appliances.

Cho pointed out mobility and electric vehicle components as promising areas that can drive LG's future growth.

"I've just looked around exhibitions about mobility. There, I thought about the future of electric vehicles and auto parts that we are making," he said.

LG's electric vehicle business is expected to turn to a profit for the year for the first time since the company entered the market in 2013, on robust demand amid the gradual easing of the auto chip shortage and a subsequent rise in auto production.

"LG's business is always about life being good," he said. "Our customers hold all the answers and our vision is to give them good life experiences."

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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