LG Display appoints LG Innotek chief as new CEO

LG Innotek CEO and President Jeong Cheol-dong has been appointed the new CEO of LG Display, Thursday. (LG Display)

LG Display appointed Jeong Cheol-dong, currently LG Innotek president as its new chief executive officer in a regular reshuffle on Thursday.

The display panel maker said its board of directors appointed Jeong, an LG veteran who has served at a number of LG Group affiliates including LG Display and LG Chem for 40 years, as its new CEO in the board meeting earlier in the day.

Jeong will start his work at LG Display from on Dec. 1 and the appointment will be made official at the general shareholders’ meeting and a board meeting slated for March next year.

"The appointment comes as the company seeks to gear up to handle the changing business environment, by strengthening OLED-focused businesses, coming up with differentiated technology and competitiveness in price and product quality," LG Display said.

"We seek to speed up creating special customer value and promote qualitative growth," it said.

LG Innotek promoted Chief Strategy Officer Moon Hyuk-soo as the successor of Jeong. Moon is the first CEO born in the 1970s at LG Innotek.

LG Display also promoted seven executives in the regular reshuffle on Thursday.

Jeong Cheol-dong joined LG Semiconductor in 1984 and has since built his career around securing core technologies in the materials and components industry.

At LG Display, he pushed for domestic production of core production equipment and laid the groundwork to lead the ultra-large and ultra high-resolution television market and the next-generation organic light-emitting diode market, according to the company.

Jeong also worked at LG Chem, where he helped raise the level of the domestic information electronics and materials industry through development of cutting-edge technology and materials for cars, OLED TVs and semiconductor packaging.

Taking the helm of LG Innotek in 2019, Jeong led the company's expansion in overseas markets, introducing the company's optics solutions, substrate and materials as well as electronic components.

He is replacing Jeong Ho-young, who was appointed in 2019. Jeong Ho-young also served in various positions, including chief operations officer and chief financial officer at LG affiliates such as LG Electronics and LG Household and Health Care.

In the wake of economic uncertainties due to sluggish demand, inflation and geopolitical issues, LG Display has been facing difficulties. LG Display has recorded an operating loss for six consecutive quarters as of the third quarter this year, with the accumulated loss amounting to 2.6 trillion won ($2 billion) this year.

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