Korea’s display companies are in a hot race with those of China to preempt the market for inorganic light-emitting diode (iLED) displays, touted as a future growth driver. Korea is considered to be lagging behind China in the iLED display market.
The market for micro LED panels grew to US$27 million this year from US$14 million (18.5 billion won) last year and is expected to reach US$580 million by 2027, according to market research firm TrendForce. iLED displays, centered on micro LED displays, include nano LED displays and quantum dot (QD) displays.
Inorganic materials have the advantage of longer lifespan and less image degradation or burn-in than organic materials, making them good materials for next-generation displays. iLED displays are also theoretically brighter than OLEDs, making pictures clearer. Currently, micro LED displays are at the 100 μm level, and major display companies are conducting R&D to achieve 5 to 50 μm.
China is leading the rapidly growing market for iLED displays. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were the first in the world to introduce products with micro-LED displays, but the problem is that they rely on Chinese products and technology. Last month, Samsung Electronics introduced an 89-inch micro LED TV worth US$130 million, while LG Electronics released a 136-inch micro LED TV.
According to industry sources, South Korea is somewhat behind China in terms of display pixels. “The key technology is to ensure luminous efficiency even as the pixel size decreases,” said a display industry insider. “China and Taiwan are leading the market in this aspect.”
Korea has been gradually losing its competitiveness in the field of iLED displays since early 2011, when LED displays were designated as a business item for small and medium-sized enterprises in Korea. Major Korean companies such as Samsung and LG jumped into the LED market to get a head start, but unexpected regulations forced them to downsize their LED display business or withdraw from the LED display business itself. “Both Samsung and LG are importing micro LED chips from China and Taiwan,” the insider said.
Korea has a weak manufacturing ecosystem for iLED displays, too. According to industry sources, Korea has only 40 makers of materials, components, and equipment for iLED displays in Korea, compared to 90 in China. While Korea remains the world’s No. 1 in panel manufacturing, its overall competitiveness in iLED displays, including pixel technology and materials, components, and equipment for iLED displays, is considered to be declining.
Insiders of the Korean display industry expect Korea to lead the global iLED display market if it quickly develops its technology, as it has a competitive edge in semiconductors. Micro LEDs are made on wafers which can quickly increase production efficiency if supported by semiconductor technology. Currently, 6-inch wafers are used, and it is necessary to increase production by expanding to 8-inch wafers in the future.
Samsung Display’s recent acquisition of U.S. display company eMagin for US$218 million is based on a decision to sharpen its competitiveness in iLED displays. eMagin’s direct patterning (dPd) technology is considered a key technology for micro LEDs.
The Korea government has also begun to create an ecosystem for LED displays. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held an alliance event to foster the iLED display industry on Aug. 29. In the event, it vowed to launch a 1 trillion won R&D project to develop iLED display technology and build an ecosystem for LED displays. This is part of the government’s innovation strategy to invest 65 trillion won to regain the top spot in displays from China by 2027.