LG Chem Commits KRW 15 Trillion to R&D by 2035, Targeting Semiconductor Packaging and Robotics Materials as Petrochemical Margins Slide
LG Chem Ltd. (051910.KS) unveiled a sweeping KRW 15 trillion (USD 9.74 billion) research-and-development investment roadmap stretching to 2035 on Monday, channeling 70 percent of the capital into semiconductor, electric-vehicle, and robotics materials while reserving 30 percent for its anticancer drug pipeline, in what amounts to the company's most explicit strategic break from its legacy petrochemical business.
Chief Executive Officer Kim Dong-chun announced the decade-long plan during a company-wide town hall, framing the commitment as a structural pivot toward high-value-added specialties. "We will upgrade our business portfolio by fostering semiconductor, mobility and robotics materials, as well as anticancer drugs, as our core future growth businesses," Kim said.
Three-Pillar Materials Strategy
Semiconductor Materials
The largest single focus is advanced semiconductor packaging — an area growing rapidly as chipmakers race to sustain performance gains through heterogeneous integration. LG Chem targets packaging adhesives, low-dielectric-constant (low-k) films, thermal-management materials, and glass substrates, each of which is emerging as a bottleneck in next-generation AI accelerator assembly. The company's electronic materials business is set to reach KRW 2 trillion (USD 1.3 billion) in annual revenue by 2030, up sharply from current levels.
Mobility and Robotics Materials
The second pillar extends LG Chem's existing EV and automotive chemicals franchise into the fast-growing robotics sector. The company plans to develop structural materials for humanoid and industrial robots alongside precision actuator and bonding compounds — chemistries that must endure high-frequency mechanical stress in a way that differs markedly from automotive requirements.
Anticancer Drug Pipeline
The remaining 30 percent of R&D capital goes to LG Chem's Life Science arm, which is expected to broaden its oncology clinical-trial portfolio and pursue global licensing partnerships. The company has not disclosed specific compound names or stage-of-development targets under this initiative.
Organizational Overhaul to Speed Execution
In early June, LG Chem established a CEO-led new business development division tasked with coordinating M&A alongside organic R&D, signaling that the KRW 15 trillion figure may understate total capital deployment if bolt-on acquisitions are included.
The 70-30 split between materials and pharmaceuticals — rather than the more common approach of treating these as separate divisions with independent budgets — suggests management views the two verticals as competing for the same scarce R&D headcount and proprietary chemical synthesis capabilities, a framing that gives the CEO direct leverage over trade-offs in real time.
Strategic Context
LG Chem has faced sustained pressure in its petrochemical division from Chinese overcapacity and weak downstream demand in Asia. Specialty materials and pharma carry structurally higher gross margins and face thinner Chinese competition, making the 2035 roadmap a direct response to that structural threat rather than a purely opportunistic expansion.
The KRW 2 trillion electronic-materials target for 2030, combined with the robotics materials push, positions LG Chem alongside peers such as Shin-Etsu Chemical and Toray in the competition for next-generation AI-hardware supply chains — a market segment where Korean chemicals companies have historically been underrepresented relative to Japanese rivals.
Sources: Korea Herald, Hankyung (June 23, 2026)
