Korea Ranks 1st in Five Product Categories in the Global Market

Among 56 major items and services, including electronics, batteries, and shipbuilding, Korean companies ranked first in the world in five product categories, including semiconductors and smartphones, according to a survey. The No. 1 items were all produced by Samsung Electronics.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) of Japan surveyed the global market shares in 56 product categories in 2021. Samsung Electronics took first place in five categories -- DRAM, NAND flash, organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels, ultra-thin TVs, and smartphones.

Samsung’s share of the world DRAM market stood at 42.7 percent, up 1 percentage point from the previous year. The Korean tech giant held a 60.1 percent share in the OLED panel sector, down 4.5 percentage points from the previous year. SK Hynix ranked second in DRAMs, and LG Electronics and LG Display came in second in ultra-thin TVs and OLED panels, respectively.

In the DRAM category, the combined share of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix was 71.3 percent. As for OLED panels, Samsung Electronics and LG Display posted a combined share of 82.2 percent. In the NAND flash segment, the combined share of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix was 47.1 percent.

Nikkei analyzed 70 items in last year’s survey, and Samsung Electronics ranked first in the same five categories as this year. In the 2019 survey, Korean companies ranked first in seven items, but in last year’s survey, they lost first place to Chinese companies in shipbuilding and large liquid crystal panels (LCDs).

In this survey, American companies ranked first in 18 items including electric vehicles, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and biopharmaceuticals. In particular, in biopharmaceuticals, Pfizer, which was ranked 10th in the 2021 survey, jumped to first place thanks to its COVID-19 vaccine.

Chinese companies placed first in 15 items including solar panels, large liquid crystal panels, and shipbuilding. In particular, Chinese companies took 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th places in surveillance cameras. Japanese companies took first place in seven items including CMOS image sensors, polarizers, portable lithium-ion batteries and digital cameras.

The Nikkei said the world’s dependence on China is increasing in high-tech products. When the shares of the top five companies were combined by country, China’s share increased in 13 categories and decreased in six.