LG Innotek (011070, CEO Lee Woong-beom), the world's No. 1 smartphone camera module manufacturer, has surpassed 1 billion cumulative sales units 10 years after beginning production. As of the end of May, approximately 1.04 billion units had been sold.

After the first shipment of camera modules in 2005, the company recorded cumulative sales of 500 million units in early 2013, and added another 500 million units in two years.

The camera modules sold by LG Innotek are small components with a maximum length of about 20 millimeters (mm), but if the cumulative sales volume of 1.04 billion units were laid out in a single line, it would stretch approximately 20,800 kilometers (km), which is equivalent to the round-trip distance from Seoul to New York.

This cumulative sales volume is an amount that would require 2,080 trucks to transport if 500,000 modules were loaded onto each 5-ton large cargo truck.

▣ Daily sales of 660,000 units last year, annual revenue of 2.746 trillion won, ranked No. 1 in the world for 4 consecutive years

LG Innotek sold 240 million camera modules last year alone. This amounts to selling 660,000 units per day.

The company is leading the global market, recording 2.746 trillion won in revenue from its camera module business alone last year. It has held the number one spot globally for four consecutive years since 2011. According to market research firm Research In China, LG Innotek held a 15.6% market share in the mobile device camera module market last year.

As of the first quarter, 8-megapixel cameras accounted for 81% of the company's camera module product portfolio. The proportion of high-resolution products with 13 million pixels or more is 8%.

LG Innotek produces camera modules in Gwangju, Gumi, and Yantai, China. It operates production lines optimized according to product specifications.

The core process of the camera module is operated in a 'Zone 10 Cleanroom' comparable to the level of a semiconductor production line. 'Zone 10' refers to a state where there are 10 or fewer dust particles of 0.0005 mm in size within a space of 1 cubic foot (approximately 28,000 cm³).

▣ Leading the evolution of camera modules by responding one step ahead to market changes and customer demands

LG Innotek has led the transformation of smartphone camera modules by responding one step ahead to market changes and customer demands. It has also focused on securing core technologies such as optics and precision actuation.

In 2005, just one year after entering the business, the company unveiled the world's thinnest 2-megapixel camera module. Subsequently, it led the high-resolution trend by introducing 3-megapixel in 2007, 5-megapixel in 2008, 8-megapixel in 2009, and 13-megapixel camera modules in 2012.

Along with this, LG Innotek has changed market trends with differentiated functional products. In particular, it applied Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) functionality to enable clear photo shooting in various environments.

In 2013, this company mass-produced the first 13-megapixel OIS camera module in Korea. This product was applied to the LG Electronics G2. The 13-megapixel OIS Plus, introduced in 2014, was installed in the G3.

This year, LG Electronics applied the F1.8 16-megapixel OIS 2.0 product, which features upgraded aperture value, pixels, and OIS, to its flagship smartphone, the G4. In early April, the company demonstrated its business competitiveness by successfully mass-producing this product and an 8-megapixel front camera module simultaneously.

LG Innotek is expanding its application areas to include automotive sectors by leveraging its smartphone camera module technology. Moon Hyung-chul, Senior Vice President and Head of the Optical Solutions Business Division, stated, “We prioritize customer value throughout the entire process, from development to production and sales,” adding, “We will continue to provide convenient and enjoyable user experiences through camera modules that integrate innovative technologies.”