LG Chem Sells Aesthetic Unit, Spurring Portfolio Shift
The Company Completes Sale of Non-Core Asset as Part of Broader Restructuring
LG Chem is continuing the sale of non-core assets by
completing the sale of its aesthetic
business. Following the conclusion of the sale of
the Water Solutions (water treatment filter)
business at the end of last year, the company put an
end to the sale of the aesthetic business in the
first quarter of this year.
Analysis suggests that LG Chem is speeding up the
restructuring of its business portfolio centered on
high-value products by continuing to sell non-core
assets.
According to the industry on May 19, LG Chem
completed the sale of its aesthetic business and its
stake in the Chinese aesthetic subsidiary, LG
Jiansheng Technology, in February.
「LG健生（LG Jiansheng）」は、LG化学（LG Chem）と、中国の杭州健生が2021年に設立した中国の合弁会社（愛尔集健生科技・LG Jiansheng Life Sciences）。主に中国市場において、LG化学が展開するヒアルロン酸フィラー（伊婉・致 / YVOIRE、Y-SOLUTION）などの医療美容・医薬品の販売・流通を担っていた。
In August last year, LG Chem decided to sell the
aesthetic business to VIG Partners, a domestic
private equity fund management company, for 200
billion won (approximately $153.85 million).
Subsequently, the company completed the sale process
in February this year.
In June last year, LG Chem decided to sell the Water
Solutions business to Glenwood Private Equity, a
domestic private equity fund management company, for
1.4 trillion won, and concluded the sale in December
of the same year.
Accordingly, the scale of non-core assets sold by LG
Chem from the second half of last year to the first
quarter of this year amounts to 1.6 trillion won.
LG Chem is restructuring its business portfolio
around high-value products while maintaining
financial soundness through the sale of non-core
assets.
Analysis indicates that this aligns with the
strategy of fostering high-value electronic
materials promoted by LG Chem President Kim Dong-choon.
President Kim Dong-choon, who is leading LG Chem
after being appointed as an internal director at the
regular general meeting of shareholders in March
this year, is fostering high-value electronic
materials as a core pillar of future growth.
The strategy is to rapidly expand the high-value
electronic materials business in line with the
proliferation of artificial intelligence
semiconductors, autonomous driving, and
next-generation displays.
LG Chem plans to expand the annual sales of its
electronic materials business, currently at the
scale of 1 trillion won to 2 trillion won by 2030.
To this end, the company has integrated and is
operating an advanced research and development
organization related to semiconductors, automotive
electronics, and next-generation displays under the
Advanced Materials Research Institute. This
concentrates LG Chem’s core competencies in
precision material design, synthesis, and processing
technology in one place.
An industry official said, “LG Chem is seeking to
restructure its business portfolio centered on
high-value products by continuing to sell non-core
assets amid the prolonged slump in the petrochemical
business,” and added, “The growth speed of the
high-value electronic materials business emphasized
by President Kim Dong-choon is expected to
accelerate.”
LG Chem to invest
$9.7 billion in semiconductor, robotics materials
South Korea's LG Chem said Tuesday it will invest
nearly $10 billion over the next decade to foster
futuristic industries powered by the artificial
intelligence boom.
The Seoul-based company plans to spend $9.7 billion
on research and development through 2035,
concentrating on advanced materials for
semiconductors, mobility, robotics and anticancer
drugs.
LG Chem said that the initiative comes as
profitability in its traditional petrochemical
business dipped because of global oversupply and
fierce competition.
Through the investment, the chemical giant vowed to
achieve a double-digit operating profit margin by
the end of the decade.
To complement its organic growth strategy, LG Chem
said it will pursue external growth opportunities,
including mergers and acquisitions. It recently
established an organization dedicated to that goal.
LG Chem unveiled the long-term strategy during a
town hall meeting Monday, where CEO Kim Dong-chun
stressed the need to strengthen both existing
businesses and future growth engines.
"While strengthening the competitiveness of our
existing businesses, we will focus our capabilities
on future growth pillars to leap forward as a
technology-driven converting company," Kim said.
LG Chem defines a "tech-driven converting company"
as an enterprise that leverages its accumulated
technological expertise to create high-value-added
products and differentiated profit streams.
The share price of LG Chem plunged 9.75% on the
Seoul bourse on Monday, while the benchmark KOSPI
plummeted 9.99%. LG Chem is a major subsidiary of LG
Group, whose businesses also include LG Electronics,
LG Display and LG Uplus.
2026.07.07
LG Chem Wins Final Ruling in Six-Year OLED Patent
Dispute With SFC
韓国最高裁、重水素化有機EL材料の特許有効性を支持―侵害訴訟は継続中
LG化学は、有機EL（OLED）の基幹技術をめぐるSFC社との6年にわたる特許紛争において、最終的な法的勝利を収めました。
7月7日の業界関係者の情報によると、韓国最高裁の特別第2部は5月14日、LG化学の特許無効を求めたSFC社の上告を棄却しました。この決定は、「電子用途向け重水素化化合物」と題されたLG化学の特許の有効性を認めた韓国特許法院（知的財産高等裁判所に相当）の判断を支持するものです。
この特許は、有機EL材料中の水素原子を重水素に置き換えることで、有機ELデバイスの動作寿命を延ばす技術を対象としています。青色有機EL発光層に使用される重水素化アリールアントラセン化合物を網羅する基本特許とみなされており、LG化学は2019年にデュポン社からこの特許を取得しました。
重水素化化合物（Deuterated Compounds）は、物質を構成する水素原子（H）を重水素原子（D）に置換した材料。有機EL（OLED）などの電子デバイスにおいて、発光効率の向上、消費電力の抑制、および材料の長寿命化を実現する革新的な技術として注目されている。
SFC社は2019年10月、特許審判院に対し、当該特許の無効を求める審判を請求しました。同社は、特許明細書が開示要件を満たしていないこと、また、当該発明は先行特許出願と実質的に同一であり、既存技術の組み合わせから容易に導き出せるものであると主張していました。
特許審判院は2022年6月、SFC社の請求を棄却しました。SFC社は同年7月に特許法院へ提訴しましたが、同法院は2024年9月、LG化学勝訴の判決を下しました。
最高裁も同様の結論に達し、LG化学の特許は開示要件を満たしており、先行発明と実質的に同一ではないと判断しました。また、既存技術から容易に導き出せるため進歩性がないとするSFC社の主張も退け、先行技術や特許性に関する同社のすべての主張を斥けました。
両社は現在も別の民事訴訟を継続しています。LG化学は、青色有機ELホスト材料に関する特許を侵害されたとしてSFC社を提訴しており、数千億ウォン規模の損害賠償に加え、侵害製品の製造・販売・輸入の差し止めおよび既存在庫の廃棄を求めています。業界の推定では、損害賠償請求額は約300億ウォンとされています。
SFCは、サムスンディスプレイと保土谷化学工業の合弁会社であり、有機EL（OLED）材料の開発・製造を行っています。同社の主力製品には、有機ELディスプレイ向けの青色発光層用ホスト材料やドーパントなどがあります。3月末時点で、保土谷化学が同社の株式の52.3%を保有し、サムスン・ベンチャー・インベストメントが設立した「SVIC第37号新技術事業投資ファンド」が29.7%を保有していました。サムスンディスプレイは、このファンドを通じてSFCに間接的に出資しています。
South Korea's Supreme Court upholds validity of deuterated OLED materials (重水素化有機EL材料) patent as separate infringement lawsuit continues
LG Chem has secured a final legal victory over SFC Co., Ltd. in a six-year patent dispute involving core organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology.
According to industry sources on July 7, the Second Special Division of the Supreme Court of Korea on May 14 dismissed SFC's final appeal seeking to invalidate LG Chem's patent. The ruling upholds an earlier decision by the Patent Court of Korea confirming the validity of LG Chem's patent titled "Deuterated Compounds for Electronic Applications."
The patent covers technology that extends the operating lifetime of OLED devices by replacing hydrogen atoms with deuterium in OLED materials. It is regarded as a foundational patent covering deuterated aryl-anthracene compounds used in blue OLED emitters. LG Chem acquired the patent from DuPont in 2019.
SFC filed a petition with the Korean Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board in October 2019 seeking to invalidate the patent. The company argued that the patent specification failed to satisfy disclosure requirements and that the invention was substantially identical to earlier patent filings and could have been readily derived by combining existing technologies.
The Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board dismissed SFC's petition in June 2022. SFC subsequently appealed to the Patent Court in July of that year, but the court ruled in favor of LG Chem in September 2024.
The Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, holding that LG Chem's patent satisfied disclosure requirements and was not substantially identical to prior inventions. The court also rejected SFC's argument that the invention lacked an inventive step because it could be easily derived from existing technologies, dismissing all of SFC's claims regarding prior art and patentability.
The two companies remain engaged in a separate civil lawsuit. LG Chem has sued SFC for alleged infringement of patents covering blue OLED host materials, seeking several hundred billion won in damages, as well as an injunction prohibiting the manufacture, sale and import of the allegedly infringing products and the disposal of existing inventory. Industry estimates place the damages claim at approximately 30 billion won.
SFC is a joint venture between Samsung Display and Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd. that develops and manufactures OLED materials. Its core products include blue host materials and dopants for OLED displays. As of the end of March, Hodogaya Chemical held a 52.3% stake in the company, while SVIC No. 37 New Technology Business Investment Fund, established by Samsung Venture Investment, owned 29.7%. Samsung Display holds an indirect investment in SFC through the fund.