LG Chem promotes former SNU professor to executive VP

LG Chem promoted Lee Jin-kyu, a former Seoul National University professor, to an executive vice president in its latest reshuffle, crediting him with contributing to the tech firm’s capabilities of developing inorganic materials technologies.

Lee Jin-kyu, a new research chairman at LG Chem (LG Chem)

Lee’s promotion stood out from LG Chem’s reshuffle that promoted a total of 22 executives on Thursday as it normally takes around five years for a senior vice president to be promoted to an executive vice president.

Lee, who joined LG Chem three years ago as senior vice president, took only three years to be promoted to the next position.

“Since Lee joined, the firm’s capabilities in base technologies for inorganic nanomaterials have greatly been improved and the pace of research and development on the area accelerated,” a LG Chem’s spokesperson said.

Lee, who moved to LG Chem in February in 2015 from a full professor position at Seoul National University, had said he wanted to “develop nanomaterials that can change the world” as to the reason why he had moved.

Since joining the firm, he has worked as a chief researcher at the firm’s central research center, supervising base technologies for inorganic nanomaterials alongside exploring new projects, including next-generation battery materials and hybrid complex of organic and inorganic materials.

Lee was also credited with initiating seven new projects within his division and discovering 68 new projects in partnership with other business units and affiliates this year. The new projects include developing pasteurized materials, radiant heat materials, coating materials and 3-D printing materials.

The researcher received a doctoral degree under the guidance of Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry Richard Schrock, and completed postdoctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Interdisciplinary Research Group.

Serving as a chemistry professor for the past 16 years at SNU since 1998, he has published 106 theses and holds 100 patents in the chemical sector.