Recently, the Korea Display Industry Association (KDIA) published the iLED Display Industry Analysis Report, which pointed out that since 2030, the iLED display market with Micro LED, Nano LED, quantum dots (QD) and other inorganic materials as light sources will be officially launched. And said that the competitiveness of South Korea’s iLED display industry is less than that of China and Taiwan. Lee Dong-wook, vice president of the Korea Display Industry Association, said, “In the current iLED leadership battle has begun, time is competitiveness, if the investment delay of more than a year, it is difficult to ensure that Japan has maintained a leading position in the display industry.”
In order to return to the global panel industry leader, the South Korean display industry regards inorganic luminescent (iLED) display as a future development focus. In addition, the Korea Display Industry Association has also launched personnel training and standardization infrastructure projects to enhance the competitiveness of iLED displays. The plan will examine various strategies to regain leadership in display, including a push for technology development and the establishment of an advisory body for medium and large companies to build their own display supply chain.
With the rise of a new wave of industries such as meta-universe and autonomous driving, the high reliability, high performance and ultra-low power consumption characteristics of iLED display have attracted much attention. The iLED display has the advantages of long life and high brightness, better performance than the existing LCD or OLED, and is suitable for future applications such as metauniverse, healthcare, and self-driving cars. In this regard, the South Korean government announced the display industry innovation strategy in May 2023, and plans to regain the first place in the global display industry in 2027 by cultivating the iLED industry.
However, it is not easy to seize the market, because the competitors facing South Korea are China, Taiwan, the United States and so on. According to relevant statistics, the scale of investment in the field of iLED by 2022 has reached $10 billion. However, due to the lack of raw materials, components, equipment companies and other related ecosystems, South Korea may miss the opportunity to compete in the iLED market.
However, the pixel technology used by the iLED display must be combined with semiconductor process related technologies, so KDIA believes that if a new ecosystem can be built on the basis of semiconductor and panel technology in South Korea, it will change the competitive landscape of the market.
Lee Dong-wook, vice chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association, said: “We have the ability to maintain our position, and if we get government support, we will be able to regain the number one position in the world with iLED displays.”
In the face of the fierce challenge from South Korea, can South Korea successfully get the ticket and win the final victory? What strategies should China and Chinese display companies adopt to cope with the Korean challenge?
China, as the world’s largest LED display industry manufacturer, has a huge market size and advanced manufacturing capabilities. Chinese display companies have been continuously developing and innovating, and are competitive in the global market, where Chinese display companies have always played an important role. The “iLED defense war” launched by South Korea may temporarily have a certain impact on the export business and market share of China’s LED screen companies, but in the long run, the “iLED defense war” may be an opportunity to promote the further development and growth of China’s new display industry. However, in the face of South Korea’s ambitions in the LED display industry, China’s new display related enterprises must take precautions and take corresponding measures, which will help stabilize the market position of related enterprises and protect existing customer relationships and market share.
Secondly, domestic display enterprises should also improve the ability of technological innovation, increase investment in research and development, strengthen the research and development of new display technologies such as Mini/Micro LED, and promote the further development of LED display technology. By improving product quality and performance, Chinese companies can compete with South Korea in the high-end international market and attract more customers, while strengthening cooperation and innovation with upstream and downstream companies in the supply chain to jointly tackle challenges. Through the integration of resources, jointly develop new products, improve the technical level, and provide more competitive solutions.
In addition, challenges can be met by expanding market share at home and abroad. The government has formulated policies to support the development of the new display industry, encouraged domestic enterprises to purchase domestic screens, and provided measures such as financial support and tax incentives to promote the development of the local market. At the same time, we need to continue to actively explore international markets and reduce our dependence on the single market. By strengthening international cooperation, expanding overseas sales channels, participating in international exhibitions and conferences, etc., we will improve our visibility and international competitiveness.
In order to cope with the competition from South Korea, Japan and other countries in the global display industry and create a new brilliance in the international market of China’s LED display industry, we must strengthen our own strength, pay attention to technology research and development and innovation, improve product quality and competitiveness, and actively expand domestic and foreign markets, seize new opportunities, increase internal innovation efforts, and comprehensively enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises. This is the way we have worked. I believe that as long as China’s display enterprises in the display technology in-depth cultivation, good practice, bright future market must be China’s display enterprises!
