Inside LIG Nex1’s Success: Chairman Koo’s Strategy and Employee Engagement

Chairman Koo Bon Sang, Interaction Time with Employees
April 5th, Lotte World Full Rental
Last Year’s Sales $1.7 Billion

LIG Nex1 is garnering attention for renting out Lotte World entirely for its employees. LIG Nex1 has rented out Lotte World, a theme park based in Seoul, to provide a time for interaction among its employees across the company.

On the 28th, it was reported that LIG Nex1 had rented out Lotte World in Jamsil, Seoul, for April 5th. The plan is to invite employees to all business sites, including Pangyo, Yongin, Daejeon, Gumi, and Gimcheon. This appears to be a choice by Chairman Koo Bon Sang of LIG Nex1.

Koo Bon Sang carried out the rental to encourage the employees, as he believes that the employees contributed to LIG Nex1’s record-breaking performance last year.

It has been reported that the key management, including Chairman Koo Bon Sang and new President Shin Ik Hyun, intend to participate in the employee interaction time on April 5th. The industry believes Koo’s leadership played a significant role. He is known to value family-friendly management.

He attributed the record-breaking performance achievement last year to the employees and made it possible for the employees and their families to participate in the event. An estimated 4,000 people are expected to attend the Lotte World event on April 5th.

LIG Nex1’s sales last year were $1.7 billion, a 4% growth from the previous year, and operating profits increased to $142 million, a 4.1% growth.

This is the highest performance LIG Nex1 has achieved since its establishment. It appears to be due to the increase in the scale of new overseas orders, including the second mass production project of the next-generation military radio Tactical Multi-band Multi-role Radio (TMMR), the Indonesian radio project, the Close-In Weapon System (CIWS)- II project, and the performance improvement project of the air-ground communication radio.

The scale of new orders that LIG Nex1 has won, including the aforementioned large-scale projects, is known to be $7.2 billion. The balance of accumulated orders as of the end of last year increased by 60% from the previous year to $14.8 billion.

This is thanks to Koo’s direct involvement in sales activities. It was reported that he oversaw overseas sales and actively conducted sales in regions such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

He is believed to have been at the forefront of sales to directly boost orders, such as personally attending the “UMEX 2022,” an international exhibition on robots and unmanned systems held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and visiting Malaysia multiple times.

Koo was sentenced to four years in prison in 2012 on charges of issuing fraudulent commercial papers and released upon completion of his sentence. In May 2021, he returned to LIG Nex1 as a non-registered executive.

He returned in 2021 because his employment was restricted for five years from the day his sentence ended due to allegations of violating the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes Act. He could not return as a registered executive because the harsh gaze toward Koo had not yet disappeared.

With LIG Nex1’s outlook for this year expected to be bright, interest is focusing on the timing of Koo’s return as a registered executive. LIG Nex1 announced that it would focus on business within new order regions, expanding beyond its existing business in the Middle East to Europe, NATO member countries, and Southeast Asia.

Currently, Romania is pushing for a weapons introduction project to build a medium- and short-range air defense system, and it is hinted that LIG Nex1 may participate in the project bid with the KM-SAM and the portable ground-to-air guided weapon KP-SAM Chiron. The scale of Romania’s project is known to be $4.1 billion.

They are expected to also participate in the air defense system construction project in North Africa to promote the KP-SAM Chiron. In the U.S., if the test launch of Poniard passes, the possibility of exporting it is expected to increase, and foreign industry’s interest in KM-SAM II and AT-1K Raybolt continues to be high.

It is reported that Koo will share his gratitude towards the employees and the management policy during communication with employees of LIG Nex1’s business sites nationwide on April 5th. It is judged to create a favorable atmosphere for his return as a registered director.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the share price of LIG Nex1 is leading an upward trend. According to the Korea Exchange on the 8th, the stock price of LIG Nex1 has risen for 21 trading days out of the 23 days since February, excluding only two days. It is currently on an upward trend of eight days.

LIG Nex1 announced it will acquire Ghost Robotics in the U.S. in the first half of the year as it expands its foothold as a defense business. As such, it is expected to expand its business scope not only in the defense business but also in the robot technology business.