LG CONSIDERS EXITING SMARTPHONE BUSINESS

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LG Electronics has for the first time insinuated at the possibility of scrapping its smartphone business. The company's mobile business has been in the red for 23 straight quarters.

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LG Electronics has finally outlined its stance on the possibility of scrapping its smartphone business. A press release issued by the company on Wednesday states, "We are considering various scenarios with all the options on the table." A person from LG Electronics said this means that the door is open to all possibilities, including downsizing, selling and keeping the business as is. The decision apparently comes from thesnowballing deficit and the sluggishsales of LG's strategic smartphone model "Wing," which was released last year. LG Electronics' mobile business department has been in the red for 23 consecutive quarters. As of late 2020, its accrued deficit reached 5 trillion won. As a result of accumulated deficit, the company had suspended domestic production in 2019 and relocated its factory to Vietnam.

[Soundbite] KIM YOUNG-WOO(SK SECURITIES) : "We concluded that nurturing new businesses with an annual deficit between 900 billion won to over 1 trillion won would be extremely difficult."

However, LG says it has no plans to cut its workforce. LG Electronics CEO Kwon Bong-seok sent an email to the employees, in which he assured them that their jobs were safe regardless of the company's business decisions.