Corning makes Korea hub of bendable glass

Wendell Weeks, chairman and CEO of Corning, speaks during a press conference at the Shilla Seoul hotel, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

Chairman of US company to meet with Samsung chief Friday

By Baek Byung-yeul

U.S. specialty glass maker Corning has begun producing pliable glass in Korea to increase its presence in the bendable display market, which is increasingly being applied to foldable mobile devices and automotive parts, its chairman said, Thursday.

“Today I'm excited to announce that we are building the world's first fully integrated supply chain to manufacture next-generation bendable glass technology right here in Korea,” Wendell Weeks, chairman and CEO of Corning, said during a press conference in Seoul.

Corning is known for supplying smartphone glass covers, such as Gorilla Glass, to protect mobile devices from damage. The company said it has been developing bendable glass and recently began production at its plant in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, supplying the products to Samsung Electronics' latest foldable smartphones.

The chairman visited Korea to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Corning's expansion into Korea. The U.S. company jointly established Samsung Corning in 1973 to produce glass for cathode ray tubes (CRTs).

The chairman did not reveal how much the company is exactly investing into the new bendable glass production line in Korea, but said Corning will utilize its Korean unit as an outpost for research and production of bendable products for its global expansion.

Speaking further on why Corning is investing more in Korea, the chairman said, “Korea is one of our manufacturing and technology centers to serve the entire globe. Second, one of our values is to be located in the same region and close to the most innovative customers in the world. Finally, and most importantly the reason is we have 3,000 tremendous, dedicated and talented people here to make this very challenging technology a reality.”

To seek further business opportunities, the chairman said he had a meeting with Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Euisun Thursday and will have a meeting with Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong Friday to celebrate Corning's 50th anniversary in Korea with Samsung.

Weeks credited Samsung Group's founder Lee Byung-chul, the grandfather of the current chairman, saying he envisioned the future of Korea's electronics industry and helped the U.S. company enter the Korean market.

“BC Lee convinced us of the wisdom of joining with Samsung to help build the consumer electronics industry. We began with black and white TVs in 1973 and black and white evolved to color TV which led to LCD technology fueled by another Corning innovation. We then moved to brand new materials and processes for mobile consumer electronics with Gorilla Glass, enabling today's smartphone experience,” Weeks said.