Display industry group’s plan to buy own building drawing ire from members
Companies criticizing Korea Display Industry Association for plan
A plan to buy its own building by Korea Display Industry Association (KDIA), a trade association of the display industry with members such as Samsung Display and LG Display, is being criticized by association members as out of touch, TheElec has learned.
Those working at member companies told TheElec that the organization has so far failed to properly represent the industry’s interests to governments in recent times and its latest plan to buy its own building is expected to burden them with additional costs.
KDIA currently uses one floor of a building at Gangnam that it purchased in 2007 and are planning to move because they believe they need more office space to house increasing number of employees.
The association is planning to spend between 30 billion won to 40 billion won. KDIA representatives said they plan to lease part of the building so that members won’t be burdened with cost of the move.
However, members are currently unhappy with how KDIA has performed to benefit the government, especially against the South Korean government.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had announced policies to support the local semiconductor and battery industries.
It had planned to announce a similar policy for the display industry around May last year but this has been postponed for unspecified reasons.
Sources at KDIA said they expect the policy to be announced after the inauguration of a new Administration. South Korea is currently in the election for a new President.
In October, the country updated local laws to give tax and financial incentives to the semiconductor, battery and vaccine sectors, but display was not included.
KDIA members believe as China has taken over South Korea as the dominant country in liquid crystal displays, they need government support to foster next-generation displays such as OLED to stay globally competitive.
KDIA has so far failed to stress the importance of this to the government, sources at member companies said.