Shrank by Over Half
Korea’s exports of materials, parts, and equipment for displays have plummeted to about half of last year’s level so far this year amid the global economic downturn and sluggish demand.
On June 13, the Korea Display Industry Association shared the current status of Korea’s exports of materials, parts, and equipment for displays and discussed support measures in a seminar to support the expansion of Korea’s display exports in Seoul.
On a cumulative basis from January through April 2023, Korea’s exports of materials, parts, and equipment for displays dropped from the same period last year, according to the association. Equipment exports shrank 54.4 percent to US$280 million, while exports of five material and parts items fell 46.2 percent to US$716 million.
The economic slowdown caused panel companies to cut back on new investments, which led to a significant decline in Korea’s equipment exports and resulted in a reduction in production by panel companies. The cut in production by panel companies pulled down Korea’s material and parts exports.
In particular, Korea’s exports of equipment for displays to China which accounted for 40 percent of Korea’s total display equipment exports fell 80 percent to just US$110 million from the same period of 2022.
This is because the Chinese display market grew centered on liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which have a low entry barrier, and the Chinese government’s policy of encouraging display localization toughen competition for taking such orders.
Therefore, in order to expand exports to China, it was necessary to quickly shift the Korean display industry’s trade structure toward high-value-added organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays and expand its export markets to India and Vietnam, the association suggested.