Jung Ho-young, President of LGD, "Major countries' pursuit is fierce... Strengthening global No.1 position with OLED technology"

13th Display Day Ceremony

Industry Vice Minister Jang Young-jin Also Says "China's Pursuit Is Frightening"
Mentions the Need to Designate 'National Advanced Strategic Industry' as a Long-Standing Wish

Jung Ho-young, Chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association and CEO of LG Display, delivering a welcome speech at the '13th Display Day' ceremony held on the 22nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul. The event was attended by Choi Joo-sun, CEO of Samsung Display, Jang Young-jin, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and about 300 industry-academia-research figures. (Photo by Moon Chae-seok)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Jeong Ho-young, Chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association and CEO of LG Display, emphasized on the 22nd that the pursuit by major countries such as China is fierce, and that Korea must strengthen its position as the world’s number one through OLED technology and other innovations.

Chairman Jeong made these remarks in his welcoming speech at the '13th Display Day Commemoration Ceremony' held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seocho-gu, Seoul. At the event, 40 individuals who contributed to the display industry received government awards, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy commendations, Display Association Chairman Awards, Information Display Society Chairman Awards, and Special Merit Awards. About 300 people attended the event, including Chairman Jeong, Choi Joo-sun CEO of Samsung Display, Jang Young-jin, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and representatives from academia, industry, and research sectors.

Chairman Jeong identified three key tasks for strengthening Korea’s display industry: ▲ overcoming the pursuit of major countries through OLED technology innovation ▲ enhancing the stability of the supply chain including materials, parts, and equipment ▲ and the importance of nurturing talent.

He said, "Since the pursuit by major overseas competitors is fierce, continuous technological innovation is more important than anything else," and emphasized, "We must further strengthen our core OLED technology capabilities to widen the gap with emerging countries and expand our world No.1 position in OLED through the development of innovative technologies such as transparent OLED and flexible OLED." He also assessed, "Furthermore, we need to accelerate innovation in future display technologies and products such as AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and holograms, and boldly pursue business innovation by leading the market through collaboration with various industries."

He also stressed the need to strengthen the overall fundamentals of the display industry through support for materials, parts, and equipment companies. Chairman Jeong pointed out, "We must increase the added value of the entire industry and develop a stable growth structure," adding, "To this end, efforts to strengthen the technological capabilities of domestic materials, parts, and equipment companies and to promote co-growth with panel companies should be pursued more actively."

He emphasized the necessity of nurturing convergence talents equipped with expertise in core industrial technologies. Chairman Jeong said, "Open and expansive collaboration among industry, academia, and research is extremely important, and special attention and support from the government are also necessary," adding, "I believe it is a shared responsibility of industry, academia, and research to systematically produce talents who possess not only expertise in core technologies but also convergence capabilities across various fields."

Jang Young-jin, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, delivering a welcome speech at the '13th Display Day' ceremony held on the 22nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul. The event was attended by about 300 industry-academic-research figures, including Jung Ho-young, Chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association and CEO of LG Display, and Choi Joo-sun, CEO of Samsung Display. (Photo by Moon Chae-seok)

Vice Minister Jang Young-jin also hinted at increasing government support, citing the fierce pursuit by China in his congratulatory speech. According to him, during the first four months of the new government, about KRW 337 trillion was invested in 53 projects, resolving several cases where investments were blocked due to regulations. He conveyed that progress has reached about half of the target. Vice Minister Jang particularly highlighted that the relaxation of metropolitan area garden regulations is gradually being implemented.

Vice Minister Jang said, "The new government expects a dramatic increase in the supply of industrial manpower in semiconductors, displays, software, etc., through improvements in the long-standing metropolitan area garden regulations," adding, "The overall government policy is to secure manpower centered on advanced and high value-added industries and make it a growth engine for our economy."

He also pointed out the serious challenge of containing China. The display industry faces both crisis and opportunity, and the pursuit by China is judged to be the most severe. Vice Minister Jang said, "The most urgent issue we see in the display industry is competition with China," and diagnosed, "China is no longer just our consumer market but has emerged as a competitor in all businesses."

He also emphasized the need to grow services such as the metaverse and digital OTT, as pointed out by Chairman Jeong. He mentioned the necessity of designating the display industry as a 'national advanced strategic industry,' a long-standing wish of the display sector. Vice Minister Jang said, "The government plans to mobilize all available policy means under the goal of raising Korea’s market share from about 30% to about 50%," adding, "There is also the aspect of designating the industry as a national advanced strategic industry, which is a long-standing wish of the industry."