LG Telecom will change its name to “LG Uplus” this coming July.

LG Telecom has stated that, during a meeting of the board of directors held on May 13, the changing of the existing company name LG Telecom to LG Uplus was passed. The change will be made definite following the approval procedure of the temporary, general stockholders’ meeting to be held in June.

However, Vice Chairman, Lee Sang-cheol, who was appointed head of the integrated LG Telecom in January, has concerns. This is because although an integrated corporation was born through the merger of three companies - LG Telecom, LG Dacom, and LG Powercom - no suitable company name had been decided.

The rumor is that although he wanted a name in line with his vision of ‘escaping from telecommunications,’ it was not easy because of his instruction that the ‘t’ in telecommunications and the ‘c’ in communication be removed in order to reflect the ending of the era in which money was earned through telecommunications services.

Five outside companies as well as company employees were asked to propose new names. However, despite over 800 company names being created, none were chosen. Yet, finally, after four months of travail, the new name was finally born.

The name ‘Uplus’ is designed to convey the company’s ambition to create new values and lead a ubiquitous world. The company explained that the letter ‘u’ is derived from ‘ubiquitous’ while the plus (+) shows that additional values will be provided to users.

“This is the result of having considered all diverse aspects, including the business domain of the future, relationships within the telecommunications sector, which are special business characteristics, pronunciation, and memorization of name,” said the head of public relations at LG Telecom.

Furthermore, it has been suggested that the novelty and the uniqueness of ‘Uplus’ played a big role in it being chosen as the new company name.

LG Telecom plans to officially announce the new corporate image (CI) through a vision proclamation ceremony in July after the name was approved during a general meeting of the stockholders. In addition, it has been decided that diverse events will be used to publicize Uplus.

Chun Seong-gyoo, director in charge of strategic planning at LG Telecom explained, “Research has shown that the trustworthiness and friendly values of LG will combine with the freshness and sophistication of Uplus to create a positive image. The new company name contains the vision of the company to escape from telecommunications as well as the company’s consumer-friendly attitude as well” LG Telecom was founded in July 1996. In February 1998, it began a wireless data service using the CDMA method (Code Division Multiple Access). In October, it concluded a strategic alliance with British Telecommunications of the United Kingdom. It induced foreign capital worth $400 million. In April 1999, a wireless Internet service was implemented through cooperation with Phone.com of the United States, while in November the same year, it established a stock investment analysis system and developed a wireless video transmission system.

In August 2001, the company acquired the business right for developing synchronous IMT-2000. In July 2002, it signed an MOU regarding development of integrated wired and wireless products with Hanaro Telecom, while in January 2006, ground-wave DMB was commercialized for the first time in the world. Additionally, in April 2008, and due to market relocation, the company was delisted from the KOSDAQ and listed on the stock market.

The company has set up a branch office in San Diego, the United States, and has been active as a member of the CDMA Development Group (CDG), which is comprised of the world’s telecommunications companies, and has been developing next generation mobile telecommunications technologies. In January 2010, the company merged with LG Powercom and LG Dacom to become ‘integrated LG Telecom.’

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