Samsung, LG Display allowed to export core display tech to China

By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday approved plans by two leading
display panel makers to export key liquid crystal display (LCD) panel technology
to China, the prime minister's office said.
Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Display Co., the world's top two LCD makers,
sought government approval in October for the technology exports in order to
build factories producing LCD TVs in China, which is expected to become the
world's biggest market in coming years.
With the government permission, Samsung and LG reportedly plan to build 7.5
generation and 8th generation LCD manufacturing facilities, respectively, in
China.
"The government has approved exports of the core LCD technology to China,
considering the need to help the two companies manage the fast-growing Chinese
market locally and to strengthen strategic economic cooperation with China," the
prime minister's office said in a statement.
Thin film transistor LCD panel technology is one of South Korea's core national
technologies, and requires government approval for export.
The decision was made in a meeting of a government panel for protecting such
technologies, presided over by Prime Minister Chung Un-chan.
During the meeting, the panel also decided to expand the number those technologies
to 49 from the current 40, considering rapid technological developments.
The Thursday meeting was also attended by ten other Cabinet ministers and the
chief of the state intelligence agency, along with a dozen industry experts.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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