In recent years, with the rise of Chinese manufacturers (BOE, Youda optoelectronics and qunchuang, etc.), the LCD price fell rapidly, which accelerated the decline of Samsung LCD's global competitive advantage, and finally made the decision to adjust the production line. According to the Korea Times report, Samsung decided last Sunday that it would close its last generation 8.5 LCD panel production line in South Korea in June 2022 and completely withdraw from the LCD business**
Samsung's latest decision was six months ahead of schedule, largely due to business losses caused by the decline in LCD panel prices. According to the data of the US market research company display supply chain consultants (DSCC), if the average price index of LCD panels in January 2014 is set to 100, it will fall to 36.6 in September this year, a record low. In June, 2021, the figure was 87, a decrease of 58% compared with that in June.
However, Samsung's timetable for exiting the LCD business has been later than originally planned. Samsung had planned to withdraw from the LCD business by the end of 2020, but the outbreak of the COVID-19 caused the LCD panel price to soar suddenly, causing Samsung to postpone the planned schedule. Samsung will continue to purchase LCD panels, but suppliers will turn to BOE and AU Optronics to reduce prices and improve competitiveness.
In the future, Samsung will turn its attention to the panels using organic light emitting diode (OLED) and quantum dot (QD) technology. It is expected that the employees of the existing LCD business will be transferred to the QD business department. Samsung is also constantly developing new display technologies to be applied to high-end TVs, such as the new micro LED TV recently released.