Korea Holds 92% of Global Premium OLED Market Share... "iPhone 16 Effect to Push Export Share to All-Time High"

First Half DIP Exports $8.9 Billion... Up 16.2% YoY
OLED Market Up 23.2% YoY... Accounts for 36% of Total
Lee Dong-wook, DIP Association Vice Chairman, "5-Year Extension of Tax Credit Sunset Deadline"

South Korea has secured over 90% of the premium organic light-emitting diode (OLED) market share for smartphones and other devices in the first half of the year. The overall display market grew by 13% compared to the previous year, with the OLED share expanding from about 33% to 36%.

Lee Dong-wook, Executive Vice President of the Korea Display Industry Association, is delivering a greeting at a press conference held on the 30th at the association's headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Moon Chae-seok]

The Korea Display Industry Association announced on the 30th at the Display Industry Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, the "2024 First Half Export Performance and Second Half Outlook." The display sector recorded positive export growth for 11 consecutive months since August last year, with first-half export revenue increasing by 16.2% year-on-year to approximately $8.9 billion (about 12.3 trillion KRW).

The total display market in the first half reached $60.8 billion (about 84.1 trillion KRW), up 13% from the previous year. The adoption of OLED in medium and large-sized IT and TV markets increased, resulting in a 23.2% year-on-year rise to $21.7 billion (about 30 trillion KRW), accounting for 36% of the total market.

OLED accounted for about 70% of South Korea's first-half export revenue, increasing by approximately 10% year-on-year to $6.3 billion (about 8.7 trillion KRW). Domestic companies shifted their business structure from liquid crystal displays (LCD) to OLED, boosting the export share.

Although smartphone panel exports, including iPhones, to China decreased by about 3.1% in the first half, overall export revenue increased due to new IT products featuring OLED and the recovery of TV demand mainly in advanced countries such as the United States and Europe.

Notably, South Korea dominated the premium OLED market share across five major product categories?smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs, and monitors?with 91.7%, overwhelmingly surpassing China. Regarding this, Lee Dong-wook, the association’s executive vice president, stated, "Korean companies are about two years ahead of Chinese firms in OLED technology."

Exports in the materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) sector also increased. First-half exports of display equipment in the MPE sector rose by 22.2%, and organic materials by 8.3% year-on-year. This was due to enhanced competitiveness through technological development and a recovery in the industry. The localization rate of MPE was 71.5%. The association said, "The domestic display industry ecosystem is becoming fully export-oriented."

Jo Eun-sook, Head of Industrial Policy at the Korea Display Association, is presenting the current status and outlook of exports at a press briefing held on the 30th at the association hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Moon Chae-seok]

The association forecasted that the OLED export share this year will exceed last year's record high of 75.8%, as the iPhone 16 series and IT products featuring two-stack tandem OLED are scheduled for release in the second half.

Although Bloomberg reported on the 28th (local time) that the iPhone 16 models might not include the artificial intelligence (AI) feature "Apple Intelligence," this is not expected to significantly affect the strong trend in display exports.

Jo Eun-sook, head of the association’s Industrial Policy Office, explained, "As the smartphone replacement cycle is lengthening recently, if AI features are incorporated into the iPhone, sales demand will increase, benefiting domestic panel companies. Even if the AI feature application timing for the iPhone 16 series is delayed, it will not have a major impact on Korean display exports."

The display market size for the second half is projected to increase by 10.3% year-on-year to $70.6 billion (about 97.7 trillion KRW). OLED is expected to grow by 16.1% to $28.8 billion (about 39.9 trillion KRW), and LCD by 5.8% to $40.8 billion (about 56.5 trillion KRW).

Meanwhile, the association urged the government to extend the sunset period of the national strategic technology tax credit from 3 years to 5 years and to raise the tax credit rate. Currently, the national strategic technology tax credit rates are 30-40% for research and development (R&D) and 15% for facility investment for large corporations.

Vice President Lee Dong-wook said, "Considering that it takes at least 3 to 4 years from the decision of large-scale capital investment to production, the application period for the national strategic technology tax credit should be extended from 3 years to more than 5 years. We also hope for support measures corresponding to China’s government promotion policies, such as raising the tax credit rate and extending the carryforward period for tax credits from 10 to 20 years."