By Kim Yoo-chul
Chief executives of local semiconductor and display manufacturing companies have agreed to create a new ecosystem to ensure shared-growth and create more jobs, the government said Thursday.
The agreement, initiated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, was joined by large technology companies, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display and SK hynix, as well as 15 small- and medium-sized firms.
Under the agreement, large firms will join hands with smaller players to seek joint development of technologies and share existing ones.
The move came a day after Samsung and SK Hynix signed an agreement to share their patents for chip making technologies.
During the signing ceremony, Yoon Sang-jick, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, told the gathered chief executives, including Samsung Display CEO Kim Ki-nam, who is also the chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association, that local chip- and display-making suppliers should hire more software personnel in order to achieve the government’s target of 70 percent employment rate.
"Large companies providing support for their smaller vendors will help improve the overall competitiveness of the country's semiconductor and display industries," Yoon was quoted as saying.
"The government, too, will work to create a cooperative environment for our companies."
The minister also asked CEO Kim to improve OLED technologies so that more consumers can enjoy advanced TV at affordable prices.
“The prices of OLED TVs are too high. I hope the price tag of 32-inch OLED TV would be around 1.5 million won. Don’t you think consumers can buy OLED TVs after the unit price is lowered by 70 percent from the current level?” Yoon asked.
Samsung Display is the display-making affiliate of Samsung. As OLED TVs don’t require bulky backlight, they are thinner, lighter and better in energy consumption than existing LCD TVs.