China's panel manufacturers are catching up, and South Korea calls for OLED to be included in the strategic technology field

In the global liquid crystal (LCD) panel market, China has won the competition with Korean manufacturers with its production capacity and price advantages. Although South Korea is currently in the leading position in the OLED panel market, it has also begun to get nervous as Chinese panel manufacturers continue to catch up.

According to the Korea Times, Korean display panel manufacturers are worried that they may lose their competitive advantage in OLED technology, which is a situation that has happened in the LCD field. Currently, Chinese panel manufacturers occupy nearly 60% of the global LCD market, and major companies include BOE, TCL Huaxing, Visionox, etc. Samsung and LG in South Korea are closely watching the dynamics of the LCD market to find the best time to exit the market.

OLED technology has greater advantages than LCD, and market researchers predict that Chinese companies will rapidly expand their market share of small and medium-sized OLEDs used in smartphones.

According to Omdia, Chinese companies are expected to account for 27% of the global smartphone OLED panel market next year, up from 15% this year. Samsung Display currently dominates the small and medium-sized OLED panel market, but its market share is expected to drop from 77% this year to 65% next year.

The report pointed out that with strong government support, Chinese panel manufacturers have caught up in the LCD field in just a few years, and as the Chinese government continues to promote the development of the OLED display industry, it may only take a few years for Chinese competitors to dominate the market.

An industry insider pointed out that "the technological gap between Korean and Chinese companies in small-size OLED panels has narrowed significantly."

The source also said, "For large-size OLED panels for TVs, we expect Chinese companies' technology to lag behind by three to four years, but they can catch up in one year or even less."

South Korean media pointed out that China has been hiring key talents in the Korean display industry with high salaries for many years to acquire technology. In addition, Chinese panel manufacturers will receive up to 70% financial support from the national and local governments for production line construction. Therefore, domestic panel manufacturers in South Korea have called for OLED display technology to be included in the strategic technology field in order to obtain support at the national level.