LG Corporation

"The [Iranian] government has put a wholesale ban on imports of home appliances from South Korea, and is gearing up to apply bans on other foreign products. On September 29, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei instructed President Ebrahim Raisi to ban the importation of home appliances, specifically from “two South Korean firms” which he didn’t name, reportedly to stave off the insolvency of domestic manufacturers. Yet there is no certainty that by ejecting Samsung and LG, it will be the South Korean corporations that will be at a loss. Instead, Iranian consumers are already peeved that the government has stripped them of credible options for their choice of domestic appliances, and they are now discovering that low-quality, inefficient homemade products are an inevitability for the foreseeable future." (Asia Times, "Iran bans goods from South Korea’s Samsung and LG," 11/29/21).

--

According to the Republic of Korea Embassy in Iran's website, "Representatives from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, SK Networks and DL E&C, among others, attended [a] meeting [in Iran], and discussed the outcome of the recent visit of the Korean Prime Minister to Tehran, and shared the companies’ business activities as well as ways to promote the bilateral economic relationship between Korea and Iran." (4/18/21).

--

On Friday, referring to the two Korean giants Samsung and LG that have left the Iranian market under the pressure of the U.S. sanctions, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman said it would be much more difficult to return later for those who were "strong-armed by the United States to leave". Iran was a key market for the products of the two South Korean companies including TV and audio sets, home appliances, air conditioners and mobile phones....Both companies assembled some of their products in Iran but cut down on providing products and parts to Iran and have now completely stopped. In his tweet on Friday which came with a photo of workers pulling down a Samsung banner, Mousavi said that Iranians will "not forget friends who stand by their side at times of hardship". The two companies which stopped selling to Iran two years ago under the pressure of sanctions had not stopped their advertising in Iran. 

Samsung, like most other leading brands, stopped directly selling smartphones to Iran when the sanctions began. Samsung was officially represented in Iran and used to run after-sales service centers in major cities.

However, illegally imported smartphones of various brands such as Samsung and Apple are still quite abundant in the market." (Radio Farda, "Iran Warns Korean Giants Forced By Sanctions Not To Leave Market," 2/15/2020).

--

LG Engineering is listed by the Iranian firm, Sazeh Consultants, as a “Participant” in the Borzooyeh Petrochemical Company project. (Sazeh Consultants Website, “About”).

--

"Among Asian businesses rethinking their dealings with Iran are banks, oil companies and technology giants including Huawei Technologies Co., Lenovo Group, LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. South Korean consumer-electronics giants Samsung and LG already have reduced exposure to Iran and are consulting with government officials in Seoul to determine whether they must withdraw from the nation entirely following the end of U.S. oil waivers, according to business people in Tehran who work with the companies. Iran had been financing purchases from both companies with funds generated from the sale of oil and crude-based products." (Wall Street Journal, "Asian Companies Pull Back From Iran Amid U.S. Pressure," 4/24/2019).

--

Lists three sales subsidiary offices in Tehran, Iran on its company website. 

--

In 2017 the U.S. state of Minnesota listed LG on its Iran restricted companies list rendering LG ineligible for investment and/or state contracting.

--

"Iran Khodro Co., an automaker in Tehran, is in talks with LG International Corp. to develop electric vehicles for the Iranian market. 'Negotiations are under way,' said Hashem Yeke Zare, managing director of Khodro. The companies may clinch the deal in autumn, he said in an interview in Tehran. LG International, which is based in Seoul, would supply batteries and other components to the automaker and install charging stations. Khodro would make the cars. The partners aim to manufacture 60,000 vehicles by 2023. 'We are currently carrying out the plans to developing electric vehicles and to setting up charging infrastructure in Iran,' said an LG spokesman. The company declined to give further details before the deal closes." (Bloomberg, "Iranian Automaker in Talks with LG to Make Electric Vehicles," 6/29/2016)

--

LG has a company website for Iran in Farsi.

--

"Iran is in talks with three Japanese and South Korean oil and gas companies to invest in its oil and gas projects, Head of Investment Committee of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Asghar Soheilipour said. He said that Japan's Mitsubishi and South Korea's LG and Samsung are negotiating with NIGC to design, establish, and install gas refineries and pipelines, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on Jan. 13. Some Japanese and Italian companies have announced readiness to implement projects even before lifting the international sanctions, he noted." (Trend, "Iran in Talks with Japanese, Korean Oil and Gas Companies," 1/13/15)

--

"Head of the investment committee of the Iran National Gas Company (INGC) Asghar Soheilipour said that his company was offering information about Iran's top priority gas projects to potential foreign and domestic investors... The official referred to Mitsubishi, LG and Samsung as corporations having announced readiness for making investments in Iran gas projects." (IRNA, "Official: Foreign firms eying investment in Iran gas industry," 1/3/15)

--

In 2014, LG was removed from Pennsylvania Treasury's List of Scrutinized Companies Determined as Having Involvement in Iran due to a change in ownership.
 

--

"In the electronics and home appliances sections, sales of LG and Sony flat-screen televisions come with attractive service plans and free home installations. Local brands, such as Pars, go mostly ignored." (The Washington Post, "Iran hopes to resist sanctions by boosting production," 10/27/2012) 

 --

"After being hit by European and U.S. sanctions, Iran's oil sales are stabilizing as the country entices buyers with attractive prices and a form of barter. But proposed new U.S. restrictions could further bite into its crude exports later this year . . . A form of barter set up by Iran provides an incentive to keep—or in the case of Seoul, to resume—its crude purchases. Faced with banking sanctions that impede its ability to receive crude proceeds and settle its bills for imported goods, the Islamic Republic increasingly gets paid into accounts based in the Asian countries where it sells the oil and in their local currency. Iranian traders then draw on the reserves to purchase goods exported to Iran. South Korean products are ubiquitous in Tehran—from smartphones made by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to LG Electronics Inc. televisions and even costume dramas on local televisions; Iranian imports from the country amounted to $6 billion last year." (Wall Street Journal, "Iran Barters and Bargains to Help Oil Sales," 8/7/12)

--

LG maintains a partnership with Fariran, an iranian security comapny. According to its website, Fariran has over fifty retailers in Iran, “and was founded with the purpose of importing, distributing and installing LG CCTV security systems in Iran.”  (Fariran Website, “About Us,” Accessed 8/6/2012) 

--

LG surveillance equipment, including the LT903N(P) Speed Dome Camera, is clearly advertised for sale on the website of IRANCCTV. (IRANCCTV Website, “PTZ Speed Dome Camera,” Accessed: 8/6/2012) IRANCCTV is a regime entity that operates under the auspices of Iran’s Ministry of Culture, which has been described in the Iranian media as “a censorship agency” and “all-out mechanism of control and repression” that violently interrogates journalists and activists in Iran. (Reporters Without Borders, “While pointing finger at Bahrain, Iran uses culture ministry to interrogate journalists,” 5/24/2012)

"Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics accounted for a combined 30 percent of Iran's mobile phone market, Korean major newspaper Dong-a Ilbo reported in January." (Reuters, "South Korea may limit exports to Iran on payment concerns: sources," 5/17/2012)

--

In 2011, LG was added to the Pennsylvania Treasury's List of Scrutinized Companies Determined as Having Involvement in Iran because of oil-related investment of US $20 million since 1996.
 

--

"The lawmakers underlined a finding by the Congressional Research Service that 20 non-US firms may be in violation of the Iran Sanctions Act. They include Totalfina Elf of France; Italy's ENI; Bow Valley of Canada; the Netherlands' Royal Dutch Shell; Norsk Hydro of Norway; Russia's Lukoil; GVA Consultants of Sweden; Sheer Energy of Canada; LG of South Korea; Norway's Statoil; and Inpex of Japan." (AFP, “US lawmakers urge Obama to use Iran sanctions powers,” 10/21/09)

--

"LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it has started producing handsets in Iran with a local partner. Production started this month, and the facility can make 1 million phones a year, LG spokeswoman Judy Pae said. Pae said she could not identify the Iranian partner or provide other details of the production arrangement or even the facility's location in Iran. Maadiran Group, which describes itself as Iran's leading technology and office automation company, said on its Web site in a Feb. 17 press release that it began producing five models of handsets under license from LG Electronics, the world's fifth-largest manufacturer of mobile phones . . . Pae said LG wants to be more competitive in the Middle East market, and the company plans to export the handsets to other countries in the region. In addition, by manufacturing in Iran, LG can avoid Iran's steep tax on imported handsets." (NBC News, "LG begins making mobile phones in Iran," 3/13/07)

--

"GIANTS WITH A FOOT IN TEHRAN: Total, Shell, Statoil, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, MTN, UPS, Linde, Technip, Nokia, Ericsson, Peugeot, Renault, OMV, Societe Generale, ENI, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Siemens, LG, Samsung, Bosch, Valeo, Nestle, Unilever, BAT, Japan Tobacco." (The London Times, "American pressure threatens UK firms," 5/27/06)

--

"According to "Tehran Times", Iranian authorized dealers of the audio-visual, air conditioning systems and cellular phones affiliated to the Goldiran Co. got together in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Broadcasting (IRIB) Hall of Conferences in Tehran. The party was thrown in honor of S.S. Kim, chief executive officer and Vice President of the LG Electronics. Kim who is also the chief executive officer of Korean LG Electronics Company and among the 20 top economic managers in the world has received many awards in different managerial fields." (InfoProd, “Iran: Senior Managers of LG Electronics Hold Meeting in Tehran,” 11/18/04)

--

"Iran signed a $1.6 billion contract with South Korea's LG Construction Co. Ltd. to further develop its huge South Pars offshore gas field in the Gulf. With the signing on Sunday, LG took a 42 percent stake in the project. The remaining 58 percent is held by the state-owned energy firms connected to the National Iranian Oil Company." (Associated Press, “Iran, LG of South Korea sign $1.6 billion gas deal,” 9/16/02)