November 22, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] While the next-generation 5G network technology has recently arrived in the market, LG Electronics is already embarking on the next step, 6G.

The Korean tech giant said on Jan. 28 that it has launched a research and development center for 6G technology together with Korea’s top tech university KAIST.

LG Electronics CTO Park Il-pyoung (left) and Lee Sang-yup, head of research lab KAIST Institute, pose at the opening event of the 6G R&D center in Daejeon City on Jan. 28. (LG Electronics)

The two partners opened the 6G R&D center under KAIST Institute, a research organization founded by the university in 2006 to develop advanced technologies in different industrial fields. The institute has been recognized for its contributions to the development of next-generation network technologies since 2016.

The R&D center will be headed by Cho Dong-ho, an electrical engineering professor at the tech university.

“The opening of the center has a significant meaning in that it would advance the development of 6G network technologies in a preemptive manner and help beef up the competitiveness of the nation’s telecom industry for the next decade,” Cho said.

The global telecom industry has not conceptualized the specifications of the 6G network in terms of technical requirements, like speed and frequencies.

With the launch of the 6G center, LG said it would try to build expertise in the telecom segment and acquire related patents.

From 2012 to 2016, LG had the largest number of 4G network technology patents, and contributed to the standardization work of autonomous cars in the global market.

By Kim Young-won (wone010@heraldcorp.com)