![Park Dong-il, director general for industrial policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, speaks during an opening ceremony for the LG AI Graduate School at K-Square Magok in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on March 4. [NEWS1]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==)
Park Dong-il, director general for industrial policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, speaks during an opening ceremony for the LG AI Graduate School at K-Square Magok in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on March 4. [NEWS1]
LG on Wednesday opened Korea’s first government-approved corporate graduate school for AI, a program designed to train industry AI talent and grant master’s and doctoral degrees to employees.
The company held an opening ceremony for the LG AI Graduate School at K-Square Magok in Gangseo District, western Seoul. The LG AI Graduate School is the first corporate graduate school in Korea approved by the Ministry of Education to grant graduate degrees.
The school selected its first class of 17 students through a screening process that included coding tests, AI modeling evaluations and in-depth interviews. The group includes 11 master’s students and six doctoral students. Master’s students must publish research papers, while doctoral candidates must publish papers in SCI(E)-indexed journals — internationally recognized academic journals listed in the Science Citation Index — as a graduation requirement.
Eight students come from LG Electronics, three from LG Energy Solution, two from LG Innotek, two from LG Display and two from LG Chem.
LG expects the program to combine employees’ industry experience with AI research to develop new approaches to solving complex industrial problems. The curriculum includes a one-year master’s program and a doctoral program that runs for at least three years. LG will cover full tuition for all students.
The faculty includes 24 adjunct instructors from LG AI Research who specialize in industry-focused research, along with one full-time AI instructor.
LG also plans to work with universities including Seoul National University, KAIST, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology to host special lectures and seminars.
An attendee passes by a display of LG evo W6 Wallpaper televisions at the LG Electronics booth during CES 2026 in Las Vegas on Jan. 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
The LG AI Graduate School campus occupies the eighth floor of K-Square Magok. The space serves as an integrated learning environment where students can attend lectures, conduct research and participate in seminars.
LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo congratulated the first class of students in a letter.
“I offer my sincere congratulations and encouragement to those who take the first step on the meaningful journey as the first master’s and doctoral students of the LG AI Graduate School, the first corporate graduate school in Korea approved by the government,” he said. “Technology should not exist for its own sake. It should help bring smiles to people and ultimately serve people.”
LG plans to expand the role of the LG AI Graduate School to strengthen Korea’s AI competitiveness and broaden the country’s innovation ecosystem.
Lee Hong-lak, the head of the LG AI Graduate School and chief scientist at LG AI Research, attended Wednesday’s ceremony along with Lee Hae-sook, director general for higher education policy at the Ministry of Education and Park Dong-il, director general for industrial policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
“The launch of the LG AI Graduate School, where a company directly operates a degree program, marks an important first step toward a new paradigm for training AI talent in Korea,” Lee Hong-lak said. “We will provide the highest level of education so students can solve real industrial problems and grow into AI leaders who drive future innovation.”
BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected] ]
