By Cho Mu-hyun
Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that two of its yet-to-be-unveiled television sets using the latest technology have gone missing while being transported from its factory here to Berlin, Germany, to be displayed at the IFA electronics goods fair.
The two were part of a batch of 50 sets, the company officials said, adding German police were investigating the possible theft.
The TVs featured organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology that is expected to be a “must have” for next generation television screens.
“We have asked for help from the German as well as Korean police,” said a Samsung spokesman.
The spokesman said the televisions were the ES-9500 model, a 55-inch OLED HDTV that was showcased in May but has yet to be released commercially. He said the company has sent around 400 televisions to be exhibited at the trade show.
“OLED is a technology that puts Samsung two years ahead of its competitors,” said Thomas Kang, a Seoul-based information technology analyst over the phone. “If indeed the televisions were stolen by a late comer in the television industry, it could potentially narrow the technological gap between it and Samsung by a year.”
Kang said the potential financial losses for the Suwon-based technology giant could amount to 100 billion won from losing market share to rivals. Samsung is the world’s largest television manufacturer.
Samsung and LG Electronics dominate in OLED technology with Japanese manufacturers trailing slightly behind, according to industry officials. There are currently no mass produced models due to technological challenges, though the two Korean manufacturers are vying for supremacy to eventually mass produce the next generation TVs.
If the sets have been stolen, this will not be the first time key technologies of both Korean companies have been targeted by rivals overseas.
In June, key display panel production technologies were leaked through subcontractors to Chinese and Israeli companies, according to Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors indicted six employees of Orbotech, for taking unauthorized photos of Samsung and LG’s circuit diagrams for AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode) screens and sending them to China and Israel.
The two Korea technology giants have both spent over 1 trillion won developing AMOLED display panels, according to industry officials.