"Leading OLED" Samsung President Yong Seokwoo's Remarks
LG Electronics Responds, "There Is a Gap With Actual Market Share"
Samsung and LG Cite Different Research Data
Tensions Likely to Continue in the AI TV Market
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, fiercely competing to dominate the 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) TV' market, have once again engaged in a battle over the market share of 'Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) TVs.' Samsung, a latecomer in the OLED TV segment, emphasized that its products hold an advantage in the large domestic market, prompting LG Electronics, known as the 'OLED pioneer,' to immediately respond by calling the data "incorrect market information."
Samsung Electronics' President Yong Seok-woo is introducing the AI TV at the new product launch event "Unbox & Discover 2025" held on the 7th at Samsung Gangnam in Seocho-gu. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 7th, Yong Seok-woo, President of Samsung Electronics' Visual Display Business Division, stated at the AI TV new product launch event 'Unbox & Discover 2025' held in Seocho-gu, Seoul, "Currently, our OLED TV models of 77 inches and above hold about 60% of the domestic market share," adding, "We maintain the leading position both domestically and globally in the large OLED TV segment."
President Yong's remarks followed his statement at the same event last year, where he said, "In the ultra-large OLED segment of 77 inches and above, we have already surpassed the market share of our competitor (LG Electronics)." That previous comment had sparked a rivalry over OLED TV market shares between the two companies, and its reiteration this year has reignited the competition. LG Electronics immediately rebutted, stating that "(the data presented by Samsung Electronics) differs from the actual domestic market share."
Industry insiders speculate that Samsung Electronics bases its claims on data from the market research firm GfK. In response, LG Electronics argued, "GfK data does not accurately reflect sales from LG Best Shop, which sells the most LG Electronics products, nor the rapidly growing subscription sales." They further cited data from the market research firm Omdia, stating, "Samsung Electronics' market share in the 77-inch and above OLED TV segment (January to March) is about one-third that of LG Electronics." According to Omdia, excluding China and Japan, LG Electronics dominated the Asian market last year with a 74.2% share in shipments of OLED TVs 77 inches and above, while Samsung Electronics held 20.9%, ranking second.
Samsung Electronics also declared its intention to become number one in the entire domestic OLED TV market by expanding its lineup and enhancing AI features, targeting LG Electronics. Lim Sung-taek, Vice President and Head of Samsung Electronics Korea, expressed confidence, saying, "We believe our OLED TV competitiveness is at the industry's highest level compared to other companies (LG Electronics), and we will be number one in the Korean market this year." He added, "With a full lineup established this year and powerful features like Vision AI equipped, we have a winning chance."
At the event, Samsung Electronics announced plans to build an OLED TV lineup ranging from 42 inches to 83 inches. Additionally, all OLED TVs will be equipped with Samsung's 'Vision AI,' which enhances the content viewing experience. Samsung also plans to increase production volume. President Yong stated, "Despite global economic uncertainties, as the premium market grows, we will continue to increase the proportion of OLED TVs," adding, "(In this regard) we plan to expand quantities this year compared to last year (1.4 million units)." Samsung Electronics is expected to continue its offensive to narrow the gap with LG Electronics not only in the domestic market but also globally through lineup and volume expansion.
The rivalry between Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics is also spreading to the recently spotlighted 'AI TV' market. Earlier, on the 11th of last month, Samsung Electronics announced the pre-sale of its '2025 AI TV new products' through a press release timed with LG Electronics' '2025 LG OLED·QNED TV New Product Briefing' event. LG Electronics countered with a press release before Samsung's TV new product launch event, announcing the start of sales of new OLED TV models equipped with AI features in eight European countries.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics maintained its position as the global TV market leader for 19 consecutive years since 2006, recording a 28.3% sales-based market share last year. LG Electronics followed with 16.1%.
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