No OLED screens for Japan if trade dispute is ‘pushed to extreme’, South Korean engineering expert warns

A block on OLED screen exports could mean Japanese electronics firms ‘would not be able to sell high-end TV sets due to a shortage of panels’, said chips expert Park Jea-gun

Park’s comments came as Seoul said it would retaliate after Tokyo restricted exports of chemicals critical to South Korea’s production of mobile phone displays and semiconductors

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A man looks at Sony TV sets in Tokyo. File photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00am, 6 Jul 2019Updated: 7:20am, 6 Jul 2019

If South Korea “pushes things to the extreme” in its trade dispute with Japan, Seoul could limit exports of organic light emitting diode (OLED) screens that companies such as electronics giant Sony need, an engineering expert has warned.

In such an event, Sony would not be able to sell high-end television sets due to a shortage of panels, Park Jea-gun, president of the Korean Society of Semiconductor and Display Technology, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“Semiconductors sold to Sony and Sharp can also be stopped. This will invariably create problems for them in electronics and smartphone production,” he added.

The comments by Park, a renowned chip expert and professor who teaches semiconductor engineering at Hanyang University, came as Seoul warned it was looking into “corresponding measures” against Tokyo for restricting exports of three chemicals critical to South Korea’s production of mobile phone displays and semiconductors.

South Korea exports some US$3.72 billion worth of electrical and electronic components, including OLED panels, to Japan each year. Its other exports to its neighbour include industrial machinery, boilers, organic chemicals, and optical and medical equipment.

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