LG Uplus acquires cybersecurity firm in first M&A under CEO Hong

LG Uplus has acquired domestic cybersecurity firm Pago Networks.

The deal marks the company's first acquisition in seven years since it bought LG HelloVision — formerly CJ HelloVision — in 2019, and the first M&A under CEO Hong Bum-sik.

With cyber threats now ranking among the top risks facing businesses, Hong decided to bring security capabilities in-house and drive growth built on customer trust. The acquisition is also seen as opening new opportunities in the enterprise security market.

LG Uplus said Tuesday it had acquired Pago Networks, a domestic specialist in managed detection and response services.

Pago Networks is regarded as a leader in the MDR field. The company operates a range of threat-detection rules and response processes through its proprietary security operations platform, DeepACT, and provides MDR services to clients across industries including finance, manufacturing and IT.

LG Uplus said it plans to focus first on strengthening its companywide security response capabilities through the acquisition.

The company intends to draw on the threat intelligence and response expertise accumulated through MDR operations to upgrade its internal detection, analysis and response systems, and to build a proactive security posture grounded in security data.

MDR is a service that monitors a company's security environment around the clock to detect, analyze and respond to threats. While conventional security solutions focus on providing threat-detection functions, MDR deploys dedicated specialists who analyze actual security events and carry out responses. Companies can reduce the burden of maintaining in-house security staff while achieving a high level of protection.

LG Uplus also said it plans to sharpen its competitiveness in the enterprise security business and accelerate its push into the fast-growing MDR market.

The company had already been building out its security solutions business for enterprise customers, offering services including U+ Premium Security Operations, AlphaKey — an integrated authentication service based on post-quantum cryptography (PQC) — and U+SASE, a cloud-based security service.

With MDR capabilities now added, the company said it expects to offer an integrated security service covering the full cycle — from security setup and operations to threat response — for its customers.

LG Uplus also said the acquisition carries significance as the first M&A to give concrete form to its security-centered growth strategy.

CEO Hong had previously laid out security, quality and safety as the company's three core fundamentals, and has consistently stressed growth built on customer trust.

At MWC 2025 last year, LG Uplus introduced the concept of "Assured Intelligence," underscoring the importance of trust in the AI era. At this year's MWC 2026, the company unveiled its "Secure AI" strategy — centered on strengthening security across AI services, data and infrastructure — positioning security as a core pillar of its AI competitiveness.

Kwon Yong-hyeon, executive vice president and head of LG Uplus's enterprise division, said the acquisition was "a decision to provide enterprise customers with a more complete security service while at the same time raising LG Uplus's security response capabilities to the next level." He added that the company would "continue to invest in security and build our capabilities to establish ourselves as a security partner our customers can trust."

According to market research firm Deep Market Insight, the global cybersecurity market is projected to grow from $260.6 billion in 2025 to $916.9 billion by 2034.

Over the same period, South Korea's cybersecurity market is expected to expand from $2.89 billion to $9.89 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 14.7 percent.