Interview with Lee Ji-yong, technology planning team leader at LG Science Park
LG Tech Fair, held every September, marks third year
Brings affiliates' technologies together under one roof
Showcases 41 Winning Tech projects
CDU and other projects already commercialized
Serves as rallying point for 'One LG'
"LG Tech Fair is, in a word, 'LG's own CES,'" said Lee Ji-yong, technology planning team leader at LG Science Park, referring to the world's largest IT and consumer electronics technology exhibition. "It gathers scattered research and development capabilities in one place to help LG find new growth engines, and it has become a driving force for 'One LG' by laying the groundwork for cooperation among affiliates."
LG Tech Fair, launched to break down internal technology barriers within the group, has grown beyond simply motivating researchers to take on new challenges. It has become a foundation for "One LG," where affiliates operate as a single team. By sharing each affiliate's core technologies in one place, the event helps uncover new applications and joint commercialization opportunities, which in turn have expanded into group-level partnerships with global tech giants such as Microsoft and Nvidia.
"Tech Fair is evolving to identify and pursue not only the technologies driving current performance, but also the source technologies that will shape LG's future projects," Lee said in an interview with The Herald Business on Thursday.
He added that the ultimate goal is to develop "Winning Tech" as "One LG" to win in the market and capture customers' hearts. Lee and Kim Sung-sil oversee the LG Technology Council, which plans and supports the group's core R&D agenda -- including Winning Tech, global R&D and One LG initiatives -- along with collaborative projects among affiliates.
Tech Fair, which began in 2024, is marking its third year. This year, the event selected 41 "Winning Tech" projects -- core LG technologies capable of boosting current business competitiveness or creating future businesses.
In the field of physical AI, LG showcased technology that links its home robot CLOiD with AI home appliances to autonomously perform tasks such as cleaning, air management and delivering items. Also on display were technologies to enhance AI semiconductor performance, including hybrid bonding equipment for semiconductors and high-thermal-conductivity adhesive film (NCF).
Held every September, Tech Fair also serves as a stage that instills pride in LG researchers, who get the chance to present their own technologies directly to senior group executives and researchers from other affiliates and receive recognition. This year, the event introduced a new "Tech Fair Grand Prize," selected through a vote by employees for the best technology. The award is also seen as a stepping stone toward LG Awards, the group's most prestigious accolade.
Because the event unveils future core technologies, security is tight. Mobile phones are not allowed inside the venue, and no separate leaflets are produced. Even the Grand Prize voting is conducted by hand rather than online, to prevent the full list of projects from leaking outside the group.
Tech Fair has also led to actual commercialization. A prime example is LG Electronics' coolant distribution unit (CDU) for AI data centers. The technology directly cools server chips with liquid to lower data centers' power consumption. After being presented at last year's Tech Fair, it received Nvidia's quality certification in July. The technology is also recognized as one of LG's core capabilities in the "AI factory" field.
Beyond simply showcasing technology, Tech Fair also functions as a platform that creates points of contact between affiliates and uncovers new business opportunities.
"Engineers can miss other potential applications because they are focused on their own projects," said Kim Sung-sil, a senior manager on the technology planning team at LG Science Park. "When researchers and business leaders from other affiliates look at a technology from an entirely different perspective, they discover applications and collaboration opportunities that the development team itself had not considered."
Tech Fair has also become a foundation for "One LG." Late last year, LG executives from across its affiliates visited Microsoft together and held a tech show introducing the group's technologies collectively. In August, LG launched strategic cooperation with Nvidia in the fields of robotics, AI factories and mobility.
"Tech Fair, the Microsoft tech show and the Nvidia partnership did not come about suddenly," Lee said. "The driving force behind them has been the process of scattered R&D organizations identifying each other's core projects and connecting them to group-level decision-making."
"This is a place that goes beyond simple technology exhibitions -- through connections between affiliates, it turns each company's Winning Tech into 'LG's Winning Tech,'" he added. "We will strengthen it as a platform that nurtures the seeds of One LG's future businesses."
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