LG Display will invest a total of 3 trillion won to develop next-generation organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology and build production infrastructure. Rather than simply expanding capacity, it plans to concentrate resources on securing high value-added technologies such as low-power, ultra-thin OLED.
LG Display said on the 30th that it was selected as a corporations supported under the Public Growth Fund's "second megaproject" for "securing a super-gap in OLED," obtaining 1.5 trillion won in long-term, low-interest financing. It will add 1.5 trillion won of its own funds, bringing the total to 3 trillion won.
The company plans to use the secured funds to build facilities and production infrastructure to apply next-generation premium OLED technologies. It will also invest in developing technologies that reduce power consumption and make panels thinner.
By tapping long-term, low-interest loans through state-backed finance, the company aims to reduce financing expense and financial burdens from large-scale investments. LG Display said the investment is part of its mid- to long-term OLED technology investment plan.
The investment focuses on strengthening technological competitiveness rather than outward expansion that merely increases production scale. With Chinese companies expanding supply by pushing low-priced products, the strategy is to raise the share of differentiated OLED products to improve profitability.
In the global display market, price competition centered on liquid crystal display (LCD) continues, while the scope of OLED adoption is widening beyond mobile to TVs, information technology (IT) devices, and in-vehicle displays. LG Display also sees the market inflection point approaching when OLED sales will surpass LCD.
LG Display highlighted tandem OLED, which strengthens long life, high brightness, and low power characteristics, and low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) as key advantages. Tandem OLED stacks multiple emissive layers to boost brightness, lifespan, and energy efficiency. LTPO is a backplane technology that adjusts the refresh rate according to display-driving conditions to reduce power consumption.
The company projected that as the OLED market, once centered on smartphones, spreads to TVs, gaming monitors, IT products such as laptops and tablets, and in-vehicle displays, competition will intensify around technology. Accordingly, it plans to expand a portfolio of high value-added products distinct from Chinese firms' low-price offensives.
The investment will be executed mainly at production facilities in Gyeonggi Province, including Paju. LG Display plans to strengthen the display supply chain by expanding cooperation with domestic materials, parts, and equipment companies during the facility investment process.
An LG Display official said, "We will efficiently execute the secured funds to build differentiated products and technological competitiveness," adding, "We will enhance the competitiveness of Korea's display industry with OLED at the center."