Producer
LG Chem Ltd.
South Korean chemical conglomerate (KRX: 051910, HQ Seoul); major producer of electronic-grade IPA for the semiconductor industry with strategic partnerships with major tech manufacturers. LG Chem supplies IPA to Asian semiconductor fabs and has significant presence in the Korean and broader Asian electronic chemicals market. Same company that is the world's #2 EV battery maker (LG Energy Solution is a spin-off) — LG Chem bridges the semiconductor chemicals market and the EV battery materials market. Also produces NMC cathode active materials for batteries, ABS resins, and engineering plastics.
4
Inputs supplied
4
Goods downstream
2
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
4 inputs LG Chem Ltd. supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
manufactured
Thin-film composite RO membranes (FilmTec polyamide) →
chemical
Solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) →
chemical
Superabsorbent Polymer (SAP) for Diapers →
chemical
Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something LG Chem Ltd. makes — pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
2 facilities
LG Chem -- Yeosu, South Jeolla (SSBR) →
KRYeosu, South Jeolla Province, South Korea · chemical_plant
LG Chem SSBR production at Yeosu petrochemical complex. Yeosu is South Korea's primary petrochemical hub. LG Chem growing SSBR capacity targeting premium EU tire market (A-label grades). Same Yeosu complex also produces EV battery cathode materials (LG Energy Solution precursor supply).
LG Chem Cheongju RO Plant - South Korea →
KRKRW 125B expansion; adding 400,000 membranes/yr; smart factory with AI; 100% renewable energy target 2030; completion July 2025
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map — where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Petrochemicals
40%Advanced Materials
30%Life Sciences (Contract Pharma)
15%Energy Solutions (Battery Cathode)
15%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains — chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2024
LG Chem (KRX: 051910) produces from the same Seoul-based chemical platform: (1) superabsorbent polymer (SAP) for baby diapers and adult incontinence products; (2) electronic-grade isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for cleaning semiconductor wafers at fabs; (3) NMC cathode active material for LG Energy Solution EV batteries (GM Ultium, Ford F-150 Lightning, VW); (4) solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) for fuel-efficient automotive tires; and (5) reverse osmosis membranes for drinking water purification systems. A single Korean conglomerate — founded to make face cream — is simultaneously in the critical path of baby care, semiconductor manufacturing, electric vehicles, automotive rubber, and global clean water supply. No other chemical company of any nationality has an equivalent breadth across these five unrelated supply chains from a common industrial platform.
LG Chem Ltd. ↗Origin2023
LG Chem Ltd. was founded in 1947 in Seoul by Koo In-Hwoi — and the first product was Lucky Beauty Cream, a face cream. Koo had identified that Korean consumers needed basic personal care products in the postwar era and created Lucky Chemical Industrial Corporation to manufacture cosmetics and soap. The company's early success with Lucky detergent and personal care products funded investment in plastics manufacturing (ABS, PVC) in the 1960s-70s. From plastics, LG Chem expanded into petrochemicals, industrial chemicals, and eventually the battery and electronic materials businesses that define it today. The LG (Lucky-Goldstar) conglomerate's expansion from a face cream startup into Korea's largest chemical/electronics group — through 77 years of continuous diversification — is one of the defining stories of Korean industrial development.
LG Chem Ltd. ↗