November 27, 2024

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LG Electronics' new research and development unit in Cibitung, Indonesia (LG Electronics)

LG Electronics said Thursday its home entertainment business division had set up its first research and development unit in Indonesia, completing a comprehensive business operation from product development to manufacturing and sales.

The new facility spanning 40,000 square meters is located 3.5 kilometers from LG’s TV production plant in the Cibitung area,and some 40 kilometers from Jakarta where the tech giant operates a sales unit.

LG said the new R&D unit will help not just improve the overall efficiency of product development but also offer a boon for its soaring TV business there.

Government officials of Indonesia and South Korea, including South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sang-deok were present at the opening ceremony Thursday. Among LG officials attending the event were Park Hyung-se, in charge of the company's Home Entertainment business division, and Jung Jae-cheol, the head of the Home Entertainment Research Center.

Upon his visit to Indonesia in April, LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan stressed boosting localization efforts, saying “We should strengthen our market dominance by offering the world’s top QCD (quality, cost and delivery) services.”

The company said it would improve the R&D infrastructure of its Indonesian unit to a similar level to its Korean headquarters to develop more locally appealing products as well as secure price competitiveness.

The number of researchers at the new unit is also expected to surge to some 500 by 2025.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)