LS Group held a 2026 New Year ceremony on Thursday at LS Tower in Anyang and shared its management direction for the year, the group said. With employees from major affiliates in attendance, the event featured introductions of promoted executives, an LS Futurist Awards ceremony and a New Year address by Chairman Ku Jae-eun.

This year's New Year address revealed the process of Ku writing it using AI. Ku showed how he entered management keywords into AI and generated results. "Let AI quickly handle low value-added work and focus our capabilities on work that creates high value-added," he said.

Ku presented financial flexibility, new business stabilisation and market diversification, and AI-based innovation as management policies for 2026. Over the next 5 years, planned investments total 7 trillion won in South Korea and 5 trillion won overseas in subsea cables, power equipment and materials. "Financial flexibility is needed to seize new opportunities in an upturn," Ku said.

This year marked the first LS Futurist Awards ceremony. It is a system under which the group rewards individuals or organisations that contributed to the company's development with last year's achievements. It was newly created to identify outstanding talent and raise pride among LS members. Winners receive prize money totalling 1 billion won and the benefit of overseas training.

The grand prize went to LS Cable & System's global subsea energy business leading team and LS Electric's North American power equipment market expansion team. The technology award went to LS Cable & System's 3 gigawatt-class cable commercialisation team and LS Electric's data centre product development team. The innovation award went to LS MnM's battery materials investment optimisation team, Gaon Cable's North American data centre cable development team, and Essex Solutions' hybrid electric vehicle winding wire supply team.

Ku urged leaders to take the lead in AI-based work innovation. "We must make 2026 a year that advances LS's future value," he said.