Starting in March 2025, South Korean display manufacturers will have fully transitioned from LCD to OLED TV panels, with LG Display following Samsung Display out of the LCD TV market.
In a regulatory filing this week, LG Display confirmed that it will sell its last remaining LCD TV plant in Guangzhou, China, to TCL CSOT for 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion). It will be handed over on March 31, 2025.
The plant currently produces low-end and mid-range IPS LCD TV panels used in various products, including LG Electronics' "QNED" LCD TVs.
Korea abandons LCD
Korean display maker Samsung Display quit the LCD market in June 2022 and sold all of its LCD patents to TCL CSOT in September 2022.
With LG Display now also closing the chapter on LCD TVs, Korea has fully transitioned to OLED TV production. LG Display will, for now, retain smaller-scale LCD production for IT devices.
The two Korean companies were pushed out of the LCD TV market due to fierce competition from Chinese display makers such as BOE and TCL CSOT.
As a consequence, the LCD panels for Samsung's "QLED" and LG's "QNED" LCD TVs must be sourced primarily from China. Last year, it was reported that nearly 60% of all Samsung TVs are now equipped with Chinese LCD panels.
LG Display to focus on OLED
With the sale of the LCD plant in Guangzhou, China, LG Display will increase its focus and investments in OLED. LG currently has two major OLED plants located in Paju, South Korea, and Guangzhou, China.
- "We plan to concentrate more on the OLED business to enhance our competitiveness and build stable profit bases. We also expect that the capital from the (plant) sale will help strengthen our financial stability," LG Display said in a statement to Reuters.
Also read: LG Display reportedly moving forward with new 8.6G OLED IT factory
Meanwhile, Chinese display makers are trying to improve their competitiveness in the OLED market, initially focusing on small to medium-sized displays.
- Source: The Korea Times, Reuters
