LS Group said Wednesday it is strengthening its digital capabilities by increasing research and development in automation, big data and artificial intelligence technologies in response to digital transformation amid the pandemic.

“It will be difficult for the time being as uncertainties in achieving this year’s management goals have increased due to the pandemic, but I hope you will take an extraordinary step forward,” LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol said in a recent message to executives and employees,

“Let’s believe that passing this difficult tunnel will bring us new opportunities.”

In response, the group executives and employees are actively participating in the social distancing campaign by minimizing business travel, avoiding group activities and dining and increasing video conferencing.

LS is also operating related systems and personnel at full capacity so that telecommuting is possible at all times, and is planning to transfer important systems of group, such as enterprise resource planning, to the cloud in the mid- to long-term.

To that end, the company plans to invest tens of billions of won over the next five years to establish a digital operating system so that the same information technology environment can be applied anywhere in the world as well as in Korea through cloud technology, the group said.

It is also seeking to transform itself into a digital company by accelerating the group’s “R&D Speed-up” and “Digital Transformation” strategies. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)