Display Industry Welcomes Government's 'Generous Support'... "'900 Personnel Annually' Training Is a Challenging Task" (Comprehensive)

Achieving 50% Market Share, Declaring Goal as World No.1 Welcomed
Urgent Need to Secure '100 Trillion' Micro-LED Display Technology and Talent

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

This is the reaction from industry and academia 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.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The industry welcomed the government's declaration that it will secure a 50% market share by 2027 and reclaim the world No. 1 position from China as highly significant. Some also described it as a "very challenging goal."

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

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy 'Display Industry Innovation Strategy'. [Data=Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

The industry responded positively to the government's decision to focus support on materials, parts, and equipment companies to build a robust supply chain. The announcement to raise the self-reliance rate of materials, parts, and equipment from 65% in 2022 to 80% in 2027, to increase the number of companies with sales exceeding 1 trillion KRW from 8 to 15, and to complete the OLED Innovation Process Center by the first half of next year were all seen as meaningful. Among the 209 member companies of the association, 207 are small and medium-sized enterprises in materials, parts, and equipment, excluding Samsung Display and LG Display.

An industry official 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."

Detailed contents of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's 'Display Industry Innovation Strategy' supply chain construction. [Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

The prompt support for next-generation inorganic light-emitting displays such as microLED and Quantum Dot (QD) beyond OLED was also evaluated positively. Considering that the reversal by China was due to a low-price LCD (liquid crystal display) volume offensive, securing an overwhelming technological gap first is essential. The association forecasted that the inorganic light-emitting display market will grow to $73 billion (approximately 97 trillion KRW) by 2045.

An association official said, "Inorganic light-emitting displays have the special advantage of enabling screens larger than 300 inches, making them the optimal technology to meet new market demands such as ultra-large TVs, outdoor public displays, vehicles, smartwatches, and XR (extended reality). Since competition among countries like China and Taiwan to secure technology is very fierce, it is urgent to preempt technology and establish an independent ecosystem."

However, there are concerns about the feasibility of the workforce development plan. The government aims to nurture 9,000 professionals over 10 years (900 per year), but the number of personnel trained through contract departments at Samsung and LG universities and graduate schools is only 250. The government plans to increase workforce development over the next 10 years through corporate contract departments and government support for specialized graduate schools and industry-academia research and development (R&D).

Currently, 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 guaranteed employment after graduation. Samsung-KAIST plans to nurture 50 master's and doctoral students by 2026, and LG-Yonsei, Hanyang, and Sungkyunkwan plan to nurture over 200 by 2027. The curriculum focuses on basic technologies (electricity, electronics, physics, chemistry, materials, etc.) and practical skills (device, process, panel, optics, algorithm research, etc.).

Professor Hwang Yong-sik of Sejong University’s Business Administration Department said, "Since universities have limited funds due to tuition freeze policies, 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 must go beyond existing manuals such as theoretical undergraduate classes and experiential internships." An industry official said, "Nurturing 9,000 professionals is a formidable goal, and it will be difficult to achieve if only companies bear the burden."

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy 'Display Industry Innovation Strategy' Workforce Development Details. [Data=Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

There was also an opinion that rather than simply increasing the number of employed personnel, a detailed nurturing plan should be established for each subfield of inorganic light-emitting displays. An association official said, "As many opportunities are expected to be created through the reorganization of the inorganic light-emitting display market, continuous growth momentum should be secured by nurturing core talents for next-generation displays."

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