LG Display declares OLED leadership
By Kim Yoo-chul
Han Sang-beom LG Display CEO
PAJU, Gyeonggi Province ― LG Display said Monday it will closely collaborate with the government to boost the market for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, which the company has identified as its next growth engine.
In a statement, the world’s biggest display supplier said it will invest up to 10 trillion won on flexible OLEDs and those with larger sizes to be used in televisions.
At its display complex in Paju, the city near the North-South border, the company held an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of producing liquid crystal displays (LCDs) with company executives and the country’s trade minister, Yoon Sang-jick.
“South Korea’s decades-long leadership in displays is being challenged by the rapid rise of Chinese companies. LCD was the main driver in the industry in the past. However, industry growth is flattening. Threats from China are urging the country to find something new. I believe OLEDs are the right solution to help the country lead its rivals in the battle for next-generation displays,” LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom told participants.
Mentioning moves by the Japanese government to realign its display business capitalizing on OLEDs, the executive said the country feels a greater sense of urgency than ever before.
As part of the new corporate strategy, the company plans to expand its OLED lineup, to invest more in business-to-business solutions such as digital signage, as well as premium LCDs.
“The shift will generate a huge economic ripple effect, including creating 130,000 jobs, sparking 35.5 trillion won worth of production and contributing to the development of front- and back-end industries,” said the statement.
Seoul earlier identified OLED as one the country’s major export items and the trade ministry is providing various tax incentives such as heavy cuts in tariffs when buying OLED equipment from local suppliers.
Against LCDs, OLEDs are expandable as the panels can be twisted and completely bent. Therefore, the usage of OLED panels is widening to smartwatches, TVs, automotive displays and some others.
LG’s rival Samsung Display was still reluctant to jump into the large-sized OLED market as that segment is still in its infancy and has higher costs compared to LCDs. For example, an OLED TV costs three times more than an LCD TV with the same display size.
But OLEDs have advantages in terms of picture quality as they don’t need to have bulky backlights. DisplaySearch, a market research firm, says the monetary value of the OLED market will reach $28.3 billion by 2022 from last year’s estimated $8.7 billion.
“Technological barriers have been narrowed in LCDs with other major players. But Korea still has a two to three year technology gap over cheaper international rivals. The key issue is how to get emerging technology on track as quickly as possible,” said the CEO.
To create “OLED Value Chain,” the LG Group’s display unit plans to team up with local equipment and materials suppliers.
“The government thanked LG’s commitment to invest in next-generation businesses such as OLEDs. The Korean government will be active in providing more supportive measures to help the country maintain continued leadership in the global display industry even in OLEDs,” Yoon said.