"'Generous Support' Welcomed by Display Industry... 'Training 900 People Annually Is a Challenging Task'"

Achieving 50% Market Share, Aiming for World No.1 Is Welcomed
Human Resource Development Will Be the Most Challenging Task

"We welcome the government's generous support. However, nurturing 9,000 professionals over 10 years will be an extremely challenging task."

This is the industry's reaction to the 'Display Industry Innovation Strategy' policy announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 18th.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking a commemorative photo with attendees including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong at the display new investment agreement ceremony held at Samsung Display in Asan, Chungnam on the 4th of last month.
From the front row, left to right: Choi Ju-seon, President of Samsung Display; Moon Seong-jun, Representative of Samsung Display partner company; Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; President Yoon; Kim Tae-heum, Governor of Chungnam Province; Park Kyung-gwi, Mayor of Asan; Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The industry welcomed the government's declaration to secure a 50% market share by 2027 and take the world number one position away from China as highly significant.

Earlier, the Display Industry Association announced at the end of last month that Korea ranked second last year with a 36.9% display market share, trailing China (42.5%) by 5.6 percentage points. This gap narrowed by 2.4 percentage points compared to 2021's 8 percentage points (Korea 33.3% - China 41.3%). The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy believes that to achieve a 50% market share in five years, the display industry needs to be expanded to about $70 billion (approximately 93 trillion KRW).

The industry responded positively to the government's decision to focus support on materials, parts, and equipment companies to build a robust supply chain. Raising the self-reliance rate of materials, parts, and equipment from 65% in 2022 to 80% in 2027, a 15 percentage point increase, and the plan to complete the OLED Innovation Process Center by the first half of next year were seen as meaningful steps.

Among the 209 companies affiliated with the association, 207 are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies in materials, parts, and equipment, excluding Samsung Display and LG Display. An industry insider said, "Regardless of feasibility, it is positive that the government has announced a policy to systematically nurture the supply chain centered on materials, parts, and equipment companies."

However, there are concerns about the feasibility of the workforce development plan. The government's goal is to nurture 9,000 professionals (900 per year) over 10 years from this year until 2032. Over the next decade, companies plan to increase workforce training through contract departments, while the government will support specialized graduate schools and industry-academia research and development (R&D). The target for workforce development in contract departments established by Samsung and LG universities and graduate schools by 2027 is a total of 250 people?150 bachelor's degree holders and only 100 master's and doctoral graduates.

Samsung Display operates contract departments with KAIST graduate school, and LG Display with Yonsei University (including undergraduate), Hanyang University, and Sungkyunkwan University graduate schools. Both companies offer scholarships, tuition support, and guarantee employment after graduation. Samsung-KAIST aims to nurture 50 master's and doctoral graduates by 2026, while LG-Yonsei, Hanyang, and Sungkyunkwan aim to nurture over 200 by 2027. The curriculum focuses on basic technologies (electrical, electronic, physics, chemistry, materials, etc.) and practical skills (device, process, panel, optics, algorithm research, etc.).

Professor Hwang Yong-sik of the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University said, "Universities have limited discretionary funds due to the tuition freeze policy, so how many talents can be nurtured through corporate contract departments is crucial. It is key to specify which companies will collaborate with which universities, and the educational curriculum should surpass existing manuals such as theoretical undergraduate classes and experiential internships." An industry insider said, "Nurturing 9,000 professionals is a formidable goal, and it will be difficult to achieve if the burden is placed solely on companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.