Lg Uplus to Cut Reliance on Local Market

LG Uplus, the country's leading telecom company, plans to reduce its heavy dependence on the local telecom market by realigning its business structures.

On Sunday, the LG Group's telecom unit said it had cut its business divisions from five to four in what officials say is an effort to cut costs and to have leaner, more adaptive structures amid uncertainties.

But Uplus has chosen stability over radical change because the overhaul comes a few days after the new vice chairman and CEO Kwon Young-soo replaced outgoing CEO Lee Sang-chul.

Under the overhaul, Uplus was realigned with the Future and Converged (FandC), Personal Solution (PS), Business Solution (BS) and Network (NW) divisions.

"Vice chairman Kwon made little change because he needs some more time to understand the nature of telecom business," said a Uplus official. "Last year's change doesn't necessarily mean that Kwon will leave the structures unchanged during his term."

FandC division will handle futuristic business projects that LG will develop under Kwon's reign, such as those related in the Internet of Things (IoT). The PS unit aims to lift the company's presence in mobile, fixed and business-to-consumer (B2C)-oriented businesses.

The BS unit will focus on business-to-business (B2B)-related segments, while the NW unit will be in charge of network investment and management, according to the company.

The FandC and BS units are expected to have more authority given the vice chairman's strengths in finance and investor relations.

Kwon will directly lead the company's moves to boost its...