Korea's corporations expanded their share of the global organic light-emitting diode (OLED) market last year for the first time since 2015, data showed.
The Korea Display Industry Association stated accordingly on the 28th as it announced the results of its analysis of data from market research firm Omdia. Korea's OLED market share last year was tallied at 68.7%, up 1.5 percentage points (P) from 2024.
Korea began mass-producing OLEDs in 2007 for the first time in the world and has led the market. But since China entered the market in 2015, the share has steadily declined. Last year, OLED share rebounded, yielding results in terms of defending the market.
The Korea Display Industry Association cited as reasons Korea was able to expand its OLED market share last year: ▲ expanded production of high value-added low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLEDs ▲ development of color filter on encapsulation (COE, a technology that applies a color filter directly to the OLED encapsulation layer instead of a polarizer to reduce thickness, cut reflections, and improve brightness) ▲ development of primary red, green, blue (RGB) tandem (a technology that expands from three to four layers in large OLEDs to deliver vivid picture quality) ▲ diversification into high-end markets such as gaming monitors and mobility. As a result, Korea's OLED revenue for IT devices expanded from $4.17 billion in 2024 to $4.43 billion last year (about 6.53 trillion won).
The Korea Display Industry Association said, "China has recorded rapid growth centered on its domestic market through a large-volume offensive led by low-priced OLEDs," but noted, "Due to a technology gap with Korea, it has faced limits in expanding the market as it struggles to enter the high-end segment."
However, Korea's overall display market share last year was 31.7%, down 1.5 percentage points from 2024. The reduction in liquid crystal display (LCD) production was analyzed to have affected the decline in share.
Lee Seung-woo, vice chair of the Korea Display Industry Association, said, "The expansion of OLED market share is the result of relentless investment and technological innovation in next-generation technologies by our corporations, even amid China's fierce pursuit," adding, "The super-gap technologies our industry holds will be an important turning point in cementing leadership in the global OLED market." He added, "As corporations continue to invest in future new-technology fields to maintain the super gap and seize leadership in the AI era, government policy support for corporate investment must also be expanded."
This year's display market size is projected to fall 4.6% year over year to $128.8 billion (about 190 trillion won), as energy and logistics costs and semiconductor price hikes stemming from armed conflict in the Middle East amplify cost-cutting trends in downstream industries and dampen consumer sentiment. For OLEDs, a temporary decline in demand for smartphone panels, the main revenue source, is expected to form a market of $48.8 billion (about 72 trillion won), down 6.7% from the previous year.