Two decades ago, South Korea shook up the tech industry when LG Display and Samsung Display overtook Japanese giants Sony, Sharp and Panasonic to dominate the LCD panel market.

However, history seems to be repeating itself as China has now surpassed South Korea in the LCD sector and may even dominate the OLED sector in the near future. According to Chosun Biz, the Korea Display Industry Association has received a stern warning about this shift.

Before the 1990s, Japan was the center of the LCD industry, with leading names such as Sony, Sharp and NEC. But from the early 1990s, Korea began to invest heavily in this field, especially with the participation of Samsung and LG (formerly Goldstar).

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South Korea once surpassed Japan and now they are at risk of being caught up by China. Photo: Global Times

The LCD industry gradually expanded from Japan to South Korea, Taiwan (China) and then mainland China, reflecting the trend of globalization and increasingly fierce competition.

During 2003-2004, Korean enterprises deployed 5th generation production lines, directly competing with Taiwan and boosting production capacity.

When the global financial crisis broke out in 2008-2009, while Japan slowed down its expansion, Korea took advantage of the opportunity to buy inventory from Taiwan and at the same time implemented a “supply-cutting” strategy, creating a shortage in China. Thanks to that, Korea firmly consolidated its leading position in the display industry.

Does the wheel of history repeat itself?

“It is alarming that Chinese companies are narrowing the technology gap, even though there is still a gap in advanced technological capabilities,” said Lee Cheong, president of Samsung Display. However, this gap may not last forever.

Currently, Chinese companies such as TCL CSOT and BOE have dominated the global LCD market. Samsung Display has stopped LCD production, while LG Display is expected to close its LCD line this month, leaving LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics dependent on supplies from China.

After dominating the LCD market, LG Display and Samsung Display have focused on advanced OLED technology. However, Mr. Lee Cheong warned that China will not stop at LCD.

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The display technology gap still exists, but China is making great strides. Photo: SCMP

“Many people are concerned that China's aggressive pursuit of the OLED market could lead to a repeat of the LCD path,” said Lee Cheong. “The important thing is how we can widen the technology gap again.”

Signs of the shift are already becoming clear. According to Trendforce, China's BOE will surpass Samsung Display in smartphone OLED panel production by 2024.

Not stopping there, BOE also invested $9 billion in a new 8.6G OLED factory, while TCL CSOT has begun testing RGB OLED production using inkjet technology, taking advantage of the increasingly popular OLED trend in devices such as tablets, laptops and monitors.

“As on-device AI and other cutting-edge technologies develop, not only will the penetration rate of OLED in the current market accelerate, but applications in foldable, rollable, transparent, mixed reality (XR) and mobile displays will lead to an unprecedented industry revolution,” Lee Cheong emphasized.

However, if South Korea fails to act promptly, China could repeat the scenario that caused Japan to lose its position in the LCD industry 20 years ago – and this time, the victim could be South Korea.

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