[E-Daily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] Ryu Jae-cheol, CEO of LGELECTRONICS, emphasized that the competitive benchmark for AI homes should shift from the number of connected devices to “care”—that is, reducing customers’ time and household burdens.

In a post titled “From Connectivity to Care: The Next Standard for AI Homes” published on his LinkedIn page on the 2nd, CEO Ryu stated, “Just because you can control more individual products doesn’t necessarily mean household chores become easier.”

He explained, “An AI home isn’t simply about adding AI features to connected devices; it’s about changing the way a home operates,” adding, “Devices must work together to meet Saramin’s needs, thereby reducing the number of individual commands and adjustments required.”

Using laundry as an example, he pointed out, “Operating a washing machine remotely is one thing; having clean clothes ready by the next morning is another.” He explained that an AI home can only truly reduce the burden of housework if it recommends washing and drying settings based on the user’s desired completion time and coordinates the entire process.

CEO Ryu presented this as the direction toward which LGELECTRONICS’ “Zero Labor Home” vision is headed. He explained, “Zero Labor Home does not mean a home where machines make all the decisions,” adding, “It means reducing repetitive household chores and the burden of managing them, while leaving important decisions in the hands of the customer.”

He emphasized that as the role of AI Home expands, customers’ control must also be guaranteed. CEO Ryu said, “Customers must be able to check what their home is doing and change or stop its operations,” adding, “Convenience should not come at the expense of control or trust.”

LGELECTRONICS manages its products even after purchase through “ThinQ Up,” which adds new features to home appliances via software updates; “ThinQ Care,” which detects signs of product malfunctions and guides users on corrective actions; and “LG Shield,” which supports data protection, threat detection, and response.

CEO Ryu also emphasized the need for inter-company collaboration to build an AI home ecosystem. “A single household contains products from multiple brands—including home appliances, heating and cooling systems, lighting, security, energy, and entertainment,” he said. “No single company can provide all the capabilities required for a complete AI home experience.”

He continued, “Future competitiveness will depend on how effectively each company combines its complementary strengths to create experiences that would be difficult to achieve alone.”

LGELECTRONICS is expanding its AI home ecosystem through the acquisition of Athom and the opening of its ThinQ application programming interface (API). Recently, the company collaborated with Apple to jointly develop smart home devices such as cameras, video doorbells, smart door locks, and thermostats.

CEO Ryu stated, “Progress in the AI home should be evaluated not only by how sophisticated the technology becomes, but also by how much it saves customers’ time and effort,” adding, “We will reduce the burden of repetitive household chores and managing connected devices to provide customers with more freedom in how they spend their time.”