Jung Ho-young, President of LG Display, "Expecting Market Conditions to Improve in Q4"

Attendance at the 'K-Display 2022 Exhibition' on the 10th

Jung Ho-young, CEO of LG Display. (Photo by LG Display)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Jung Ho-young, CEO of LG Display, recently forecasted that the rapidly deteriorating business performance will improve around the end of the year.

On the morning of the 10th, at the 'K-Display 2022 Exhibition' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Jung said in response to a question about the market outlook for the second half of the year, "Overall, the macro environment is not very good," adding, "There will be an adjustment period of one or two quarters."

He predicted, "The 2nd and 3rd quarters will be difficult, but some improvement is expected from the 4th quarter." When asked if a return to profitability in the 4th quarter is possible, he emphasized, "Performance is expected to improve in the 4th quarter," and "We will turn this possibility into reality."

Regarding the recent surge in inventory, he explained, "There were disruptions due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China, in the 2nd quarter, and the inventory generated at that time is a temporary issue," adding, "It will normalize by the end of the year."

Earlier, LG Display recorded an operating loss of 488.3 billion KRW in the 2nd quarter, marking a return to deficit for the first time in two years since the 2nd quarter of 2020 (-517 billion KRW). This was due to the decline in LCD panel prices and the impact of the China lockdown. As a result, the domestic LCD TV panel production line will be suspended until next year, and the China line will also be gradually reduced.

When asked about plans for investment in the existing LCD TV panel line, Jung said, "It can be converted to large OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels or IT-use panels," adding, "We need to consider it further."

In his welcoming speech that day, Jung emphasized, "Joint efforts from industry, academia, and government are necessary to activate innovation across the display industry ecosystem and create new markets."

The exhibition, which opened that day, was hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by the Korea Display Industry Association, and was held for three days at COEX. A total of 167 domestic and international companies, including Samsung Display and LG Display, participated to showcase new display technologies.