The Mainichi Shimbun reported on November 7 that Korea's display industry, which has been losing ground due to China's pursuit, is expected to rebound after the display industry was designated as a national high-tech strategic technology under the Special Measures Law on Strengthening and protecting the competitiveness of the nation's high-tech strategic industries.
According to an industry source on Monday, the Korea Commission for High-tech Strategic Industries recently designated 15 national high-tech strategic technology sectors in three industries, including semiconductors, rechargeable batteries, and displays, as national high-tech strategic technologies.
The National High-tech Strategic Industries Act, which was passed by the National Assembly early this year, did not include displays, but it is in urgent need of support from the Korean government as its competitiveness weakens.
In fact, Samsung Display and LG Display have been hit by the deterioration of their competitiveness due to China's aggressive LCD products focusing on price.
China leads the world display market in terms of sales with a 41.5 percent share. Korea ranked second with 33.2 percent. It has been 17 years since South Korea overtook Japan in 2004. China s market share is expected to reach 43 percent this year, ranking first in the world for the second consecutive year.
In response, Samsung Display completed its LCD business withdrawal in the first half of this year, and LG Display is accelerating its LCD exit strategy for TVS to secure next-generation technologies such as OLED.
But China is also speeding up its OLED investment and is once again fast catching up with South Korea. According to Omdia, a market research firm, Samsung shipped 62.5 percent of its flexible OLED displays for smartphones last year, down 9.5 percentage points from the previous year. It is expected to fall further to 61.1 percent this year. Boe, China's largest panel company, overtook LG Display to take second place in the market.
With the sense of crisis in the display industry growing, Lee Dong-wook, vice chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association, said at the Display Development Strategy Council held in April this year, Korean companies with the world s highest technological capabilities can widen the gap with their competitors by commercializing advanced technologies. We need to expand tax support to stimulate private sector investment and nurture talented people for research and development.
Chung Ho-young, president of LG Display and chairman of the Korea Display Association, also said at the 13th Display Day event held in September, The Korean display industry is facing greater challenges than ever as major foreign competitors are stepping up their pace with active support from the government. In this context, it is important to widen the gap with latecomers through technological innovation.
In response, Jang Young-jin, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, There are difficult parts in the display industry. The ministry will also continue to come up with measures to prevent companies from getting into trouble due to regulations.
Next-generation panel technologies such as OLED, QD, and Micro LED were selected among the national cutting-edge technologies. "We plan to specify and announce the exact level of technical details after consulting experts and the industry," the committee said.
The selection of the national high-tech strategic technology sector will provide an opportunity for the government to promote supporting policies for high-tech strategic industries such as site selection, human resources development, technology development, and finance, as well as deregulation.
However, approval from the Strategy and Finance Ministry, which is in charge of national strategic technology under the Tax Exemption Law, is required to enjoy tax benefits. The display industry expects the revision of the tax exemption enforcement decree by the Strategy and Finance Ministry to be implemented as a result of the national high-tech Strategy.
"The Korean display industry has lost LCD for the first time in 17 years, and OLED is also under threat," an industry source said. It is positive that the technology was designated as a national high-tech strategic technology, but the display should be included in the special tax bill to help.
