According to foreign media reports yesterday (July 15), South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it will invest 484 billion won (approximately US$350 million or RMB2.51 billion) by 2032 to develop iLED (Inorganic Light-Emitting Diode) display technology, including Micro LED, QD LED and nano LED.
The South Korean government stated that while South Korea currently maintains a leading position in the OLED market, it lags behind other countries in the ilED field, with corresponding LED epitaxy, chips, and materials still heavily reliant on imports. The goal of this investment is to cultivate a complete localized industrial ecosystem and unlock new growth engines for South Korea's display industry.
Intense competition in the OLED market and supply chain security anxieties drive South Korea to bet on iLED.
It is understood that in the past, South Korea, with its two giants Samsung and LG, almost monopolized the global OLED market. However, in recent years, Chinese companies, represented by BOE, TCL CSOT, Visionox, HKC, and Tianma, have risen rapidly with government support. They have not only surpassed South Korea in the LCD panel field but have also accelerated their pace in the OLED field, striving to catch up with South Korean manufacturers.
Specifically, South Korea currently holds an advantage in the high-end flexible OLED market, but Chinese manufacturers are rapidly increasing their market share in the mid-to-low-end OLED market, and the technological gap is narrowing. Furthermore, Chinese companies are catching up rapidly in the research and development of advanced technologies such as FMM-free OLEDs. For example, Visionox's ViP technology achieved full-line proficiency in mass production in 2023 and will be introduced into its new G8.6 generation AMOLED production line. Meanwhile, TCL CSOT's printed OLED technology is also beginning to expand from the professional-grade market to the consumer market, targeting the potentially huge mid-size OLED application market.
Furthermore, iLED technology is considered to be the next-generation display technology that will overturn OLED. Compared with OLED, iLED uses inorganic materials and performs better in terms of lifespan, brightness, image quality, and energy efficiency. It avoids the "burn-in" problem that may occur after long-term use of OLED screens, as well as the problem of limited brightness. Its development potential in fields such as automotive displays, mobile devices, and wearable devices is highly regarded.
It's also worth noting that iLED technology, especially Micro LED, has a significantly different industry chain logic from OLED. The core of iLED lies in the manufacturing, testing, and transfer of micron-level LED chips, meaning it's closer to the semiconductor industry. China possesses a strong LED industry foundation, a complete industrial ecosystem, and supportive national policies, and has listed Micro LED as a key development direction. Many companies have invested heavily in R&D and achieved breakthroughs. For South Korean manufacturers, Chinese companies are surging ahead.
While South Korean companies were early adopters of technologies such as Micro LED and QD LED, their high dependence on foreign suppliers for key components and materials due to production capacity issues constitutes a weakness in their supply chain security.
The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also directly pointed out in its statement that South Korea currently relies heavily on imports for its iLED chips and materials. This means that if the market shifts to iLED in the future, South Korea will not only be unable to continue the success of OLED, but may even be at a disadvantage in future competition due to a lack of core technologies and upstream supply chains.
To gain a competitive edge in this global race that will shape the display industry landscape for the next decade, South Korea first focused its attention on the complete ecosystem of iLED in display applications as early as May 2022, launching a national-level special investment program as a follower and supply chain filler. Against this backdrop, Seoul Semiconductor has been continuously exploring the growth potential of technologies such as Micro LED in recent years. Its Micro LED products based on WICOP unpackaged technology have entered mass production for commercial display scenarios such as outdoor advertising displays and virtual studios.
South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has officially announced the launch of the large-scale national R&D project on iLED, with clear objectives and a direct focus on key challenges. As the South Korean government has stated, this investment aims to address three major issues: first, to reverse South Korea's relatively lagging technological position in the iLED field; second, to reduce its heavy reliance on foreign-made key LED chips and core materials, establishing a self-sufficient and controllable domestic supply chain; and third, to find a new engine for economic growth after OLED.
Conclusion <br /> In summary, the South Korean government's investment in iLED development serves two main purposes. Firstly, it aims to address its shortcomings in next-generation technologies, prevent competitors from overtaking it, and ensure the security of the supply chain for key national industries. Secondly, it hopes to achieve a breakthrough in technological bottlenecks, replicate the success of OLED in the promising iLED market, and thus continue to lead the global display industry.
From the perspective of the global display industry, this technology will impact the evolution of display technologies worldwide. In any case, the global race surrounding iLED has fully commenced, and subsequent developments in various regions will continue to be closely watched. (Text: Janice)
