Samsung Display President Chung Yi: "We Must Not Repeat the Painful LCD Experience—We Need a Unified Response"

[Financial News] Samsung Display President Chung Yi, who also chairs the Korea Display Industry Association, emphasized cooperation among industry, government, academia and research institutes in responding to rival countries' pursuit of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. He said stakeholders must join forces to protect core technologies and secure next-generation competitiveness to avoid repeating Korea's experience of losing leadership in the liquid-crystal display (LCD) market.
At a welcoming address at the ceremony marking the 17th Display Day, held on the 17th at LOTTE HOTEL WORLD in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Chung Yi said, "We must not repeat the painful experience we went through with LCD."
He said, "Rival countries that seized dominance in the LCD market through technology theft and strong government support have reinvested the funds and capabilities they accumulated into OLED and are once again setting their sights squarely on Korea's display industry."
He added, "While Korea has pioneered the new market for OLED through constant technological innovation and sustained investment, rival countries, backed by massive capital and policy support, have rapidly expanded their production capacity and continued a relentless offensive to enter global markets."
He also expressed concern about the external business environment. Citing oil-price volatility caused by the war in the Middle East, rising raw-material and component prices, and shrinking market demand due to chipflation, Chung said, "Looking back, the past year was by no means easy."
As a way to overcome these challenges, he proposed a joint response by industry, academia, research institutes and the government. He emphasized, "If our industry, government, academia and research institutes truly become one team, protect core technologies and further strengthen next-generation competitiveness, we can turn the contest on an uneven playing field back in our favor."
He added, "Your technology, experience and efforts will come together to create Korea's display industry today and lead Korea as a display powerhouse tomorrow."
Display Day has been held since 2010 to commemorate the first achievement of $10 billion in display panel exports. At this year's ceremony, 36 people who contributed to the industry's development received awards.
Lee Ki-seung, CEO of Se Gyung Hi Tech, received the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for contributing to the localization of materials, parts and equipment and to the designation of the display industry as a national advanced strategic technology. Samsung Display Vice President Yoon Ji-hwan received a Presidential Commendation for leading the development of the world's first QD-OLED technology. LG Display Executive Director Hwang Sang-geun and ELP CEO Lee Jae-hyuk each received a Prime Minister's Commendation for contributing to the expansion of domestic panel exports and the localization of inspection equipment, respectively.

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