[Edaily Reporter Cho Yong Seok ] At the entrance to Yeouido, Seoul—specifically, at the gateway from downtown Gangbuk to Gangnam across the Mapo Bridge—stand two buildings of identical size and shape. These are the LG Twin Towers, which ushered in the era of high-rise buildings in Yeouido, a district that once dreamed of becoming “Seoul’s Manhattan.” Even now, more than 40 years later, amid a forest of skyscrapers, they remain one of Yeouido’s most iconic landmarks.

Professor Jeong Yun-cheon of the Department of Architecture at Hongik University, who studies the development of Yeouido, said, “(Back in the 1980s when the Twin Towers were built), there weren’t many bridges across the Han River, so they caught your eye every time you crossed.” He added, “With the technology available at the time, constructing a high-rise office building was a major challenge in itself.”

To build the 34-story twin office towers, LG boldly partnered with an international architectural firm. The project was entrusted to SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), the U.S. firm that had designed the Sears Tower in Chicago (now the Willis Tower), which was the world’s tallest building at the time. Recognizing that Yeouido’s ground consisted of soft soil and sand, SOM pioneered the use of the slurry wall method—a technique that was still unfamiliar in Korea in the 1980s—which involves constructing concrete walls underground to block the inflow of soil and groundwater. Lee Dal-ho, Senior Manager at SOM, said, “It was a groundbreaking move never before seen in Korea,” adding, “LG needed a symbol to mark its leap toward becoming a global company.” Chairman Koo Ja-kyung, who led LG at the time, expanded the company’s reach by consolidating its affiliates around Yeouido as a hub, and Chairman Koo Bon-mo subsequently cultivated batteries and displays as new growth engines based on the company’s chemical and electronic technologies.

The Twin Towers have undergone another transformation in the “Koo Kwang-mo era.” As part of the “One LG” strategy—which aims to integrate the technologies and capabilities of its affiliates—the company embarked on the largest-scale remodeling project in the country. In 2024, LG re-engaged SOM, the original design firm, to strengthen connectivity between the East and West Towers and expand meeting and lounge spaces. The new space is called “Connectwin.” Jeong Woo-yong, LG’s Head of Business Support, who oversaw the project, said, “Now, two years later, employees seem to be experiencing the power of the space as they engage with new features—such as communication and connectivity—that weren’t there before.”