(KPL/Yonhap) LG Electronics post record R&D spending of 4.76 tln won last year LG Electronics Inc., Republic of Korea's leading home appliances maker, said Monday it made a record investment of 4.76 trillion won (US$3.3 billion) in research and development (R&D) last year to foster future growth engines.

The company's R&D investment marked an 11.2 percent increase from a year earlier in 2024 to hit the highest mark in its history, LG Electronics said in a regulatory filing.

The investment accounted for 5.4 percent of LG Electronics' annual revenue of 87.7 trillion won in 2024, up from the corresponding tally of 5.1 percent the previous year.

The company said it made investments to bolster its competitiveness in future growth engines, including home appliance technologies backed by artificial intelligence and electronic devices for automobiles as well as heating, ventilating and air conditioning technologies.

The company added it plans to invest 4.3 trillion won in advancing the quality of its products and developing new models this year.

In detail, it plans to spend 1.16 trillion won on home appliances business and 936.9 billion won on automotive electronics business, while using 1.7 trillion won for R&D and infrastructure.

The regulatory report also showed LG Electronics possessed 26,566 domestic patents and 69,765 overseas patents as of December, with most of them related to technologies in smartphones, televisions and other major businesses of the company.

Last year, LG Electronics manufactured automotive electronics devices for a record 39.9 million vehicles, and generated all-time high sales of 1.67 trillion won in the home appliances rental business.

KPL