Samsung Electronics selling OLED TVs in Korea again

Samsung Electronics' 77-inch OLED TV [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics rolled out organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs in the domestic market Thursday.

It is the company’s first OLED TV released in Korea in a decade, as Samsung Electronics had exited the market due to low profitability.

The electronics maker began to sell OLED TVs in the United States and Europe last year.

Samsung Electronics markets its premium models under the Neo QLED brand. Its QLED TVs are a type of liquid crystal display (LCD), using a quantum dot-based color filter on top of an LCD panel.

The latest TV lineup includes 10 Neo QLED 8K models, 14 Neo QLED models and three OLED models.

The OLED TVs come in three sizes: 77-inch, 65-inch and 55-inch. The 77-inch OLED model is priced at 7.99 million won ($6,042).

LG Electronics introduced its revamped TV lineup on Wednesday.

Its latest 77-inch OLED TV is priced between 5.7 million won and 9 million depending on the model.

While Samsung Electronics is the largest TV supplier in the world, LG Electronics sells about 60 percent of OLED TVs worldwide, according to Omdia.

The premium TV market is expected to grow this year despite last year’s decline in the global TV demand.

Out of 203 million global TV shipments last year, OLED TVs accounted for about 6.5 million, according to Omdia. The global OLED market revenue, which shrank 13.6 percent in 2022, is expected to grow 12.3 percent this year to $12.5 billion.

“Samsung and LG both seem to consider OLED as their most high-end technology,” said Kim Chan-woo, analyst at Shinhan Securities.

“It is forecasted that growth expectations are higher for OLED TVs as well,” said Kim.

“Considering that LCD panel prices are rebounding, OLED’s price competitiveness is rising comparatively.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]