"Korean Companies Rank First Globally in Four Categories Including DRAM, NAND, and OLED Panels"

Korean Companies Lead in Four Global Markets in 2023
Samsung Electronics Maintains Top Spot in DRAM, OLED, NAND Flash, and Ultra-Thin TVs
US and China Expand Market Leadership; Japan Sees Slight Decline
Chinese Firms Lose Share in 15 Sectors Amid US Regulations
Electric Vehicles and Smartphones Remain Strongholds for China

Last year, Korean companies ranked first in market share in four out of 71 major product and service categories.

According to the global market share of major products and services released by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on September 1, Korean companies topped the world in four categories: DRAM semiconductors, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels, NAND flash semiconductors, and ultra-thin TVs. Korean companies also held the top spot in four categories in 2023.

In all four categories, Samsung Electronics maintained the number one market share in 2023. Korean companies also ranked second in each of these categories. Specifically, Samsung Electronics held a 41.1% share in DRAM semiconductors, followed by SK Hynix with 33.8%. In OLED panels, Samsung Electronics had 41.7%, while LG Display accounted for 23.8%. For NAND flash memory, Samsung Electronics captured 34.8%, and SK Hynix had 21.3%. In ultra-thin TVs, Samsung Electronics led with 16.3%, followed by LG Electronics at 14.6%.

The number of categories in which Korean companies ranked first was the fourth highest, following the United States, China, and Japan. American companies ranked first in 27 categories, an increase of one from 2023, while Chinese companies led in 18 categories, also up by one. Japanese companies held the top spot in nine categories, down by one from the previous year.

Nikkei reported that the world leader changed in six categories, including cancer treatments and foundational technologies and services related to generative artificial intelligence (AI). It particularly highlighted that major Chinese companies saw their market share decrease in 15 categories. For example, the global market share of Chinese companies in surveillance cameras dropped from 52.5% in 2023 to 49.9% last year, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points. Additionally, market shares declined in areas such as cloud services and home air conditioners.

The decline in market share was especially pronounced in categories where the United States imposed regulations on China. Nikkei analyzed, "As the collapse of the real estate bubble continues to weaken domestic demand, there are signs of waning competitiveness among Chinese companies." However, major Chinese companies continued to maintain high market shares in sectors such as electric vehicles and smartphones.