LG pledges to bolster OLED business

LG Display, the world’s top liquid crystal display maker, said that it would invest more in installing production lines for organic light-emitting diode panels.

At a meeting with reporters on Monday at the firm’s industrial complex in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom said the firm would reinforce its OLED business by completing OLED production lines in the complex by late next year.

“In the long run, LG Display will put more priority on the OLED business than the LCD business,” CEO Han said.

Currently, a 55-inch OLED TV panel -- priced at around $2,400 -- is six times more expensive than an LCD equivalent, which makes OLED TV less attractive to customers, according to market watchers.

Low production yields are often identified as one of the sector’s main stumbling blocks along with high costs.

“While it is unclear when the OLED prices will be lowered to a satisfactory level, LG Display will increase investment in technology development to truly become a market leader,” the LG CEO said.

Han added that if full-high-definition and ultra-high-definition TVs brought screen resolution to a new level, OLED will mean the beginning of an entirely new era for TVs.

In order to take the lion‘s share of the growing OLED market, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics unveiled new 55-inch and 66-inch OLED TVs, respectively, this year.

“The releases of OLED TVs are more to imply their technological edge than to sell the products,” said Chun Young-Hwan, an analyst at I’M Investment and Securities.


By Kim Young-won
(wone0102@heraldcorp.com)