Korea Tries to Jump-Start Micro-LED
The Korea Display Industry Association, trade industry group that represents display industry infrastructure, including panel producers, equipment suppliers, component manufacturers, and raw material sources, is going to build a number of centers that will house 18 types of equipment that will support the development and testing of Micro-LED products, especially for small and medium sized businesses. The project will cost $14.8m and will be supported by Electronic Display Industrial Research Association of Korea, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, and Korea Automotive Technology Institute, along with the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy.
The objective is to foster the development of a Micro-LED structure that will support large companies (such as Samsung and LG (066570.KS)), without forcing them to develop the entire substructure needed to commercialize the technology, particularly some of the basic components. Officials at KDIA admit that China and Taiwan are further along in developing such an infrastructure and are looking to overtake regional competitors, despite their command of the LED space.
All of that said, much will depend on the commitment from Samsung and LG toward the technology, and in that it potentially competes with Samsung’s small panel and LG’s large panel OLED businesses, such development can be a double edged sword. At least for the time being the cost of producing Micro-LED displays is high enough that real consumer level commercialization is years off, but we expect Korea sees Micro-LED as a viable product in some form down the road and will try to ‘out-invent’ Taiwan and China. China has capital and Taiwan has a well-established relationship with Apple (AAPL) toward Mini-LED and potentially Micro-LED, so it will be difficult for Korea to gain the upper hand from a volume perspective, but we expect the underlying principle is to create an infrastructure that can feed the profitability of Samsung and LG, without relying on China or Taiwan, and letting the others battle it out for share in what is a nascent market currently. Its not going to be an easy battle as a quick search of IP on Micro-LEDs will reveal, with much of it coming from Chinese sources. The playing field here is unusually level.
The objective is to foster the development of a Micro-LED structure that will support large companies (such as Samsung and LG (066570.KS)), without forcing them to develop the entire substructure needed to commercialize the technology, particularly some of the basic components. Officials at KDIA admit that China and Taiwan are further along in developing such an infrastructure and are looking to overtake regional competitors, despite their command of the LED space.
All of that said, much will depend on the commitment from Samsung and LG toward the technology, and in that it potentially competes with Samsung’s small panel and LG’s large panel OLED businesses, such development can be a double edged sword. At least for the time being the cost of producing Micro-LED displays is high enough that real consumer level commercialization is years off, but we expect Korea sees Micro-LED as a viable product in some form down the road and will try to ‘out-invent’ Taiwan and China. China has capital and Taiwan has a well-established relationship with Apple (AAPL) toward Mini-LED and potentially Micro-LED, so it will be difficult for Korea to gain the upper hand from a volume perspective, but we expect the underlying principle is to create an infrastructure that can feed the profitability of Samsung and LG, without relying on China or Taiwan, and letting the others battle it out for share in what is a nascent market currently. Its not going to be an easy battle as a quick search of IP on Micro-LEDs will reveal, with much of it coming from Chinese sources. The playing field here is unusually level.
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