Display Global No. 1 Display Korea accomplishment! LCD display is being tipped as the most promising of the Korean government's five next-generation growth engine consortiums such as the Consortium of Semiconductor Advanced Research, nextgeneration batteries, hybrid cars, and intelligent robots, supervised by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE). Against this backdrop, LCD display is seen as having the best international competitiveness plus being deemed as the most promising field for creating innovation. Director Kim Yong-Bae of The New Growth Engine Display Center, who concurrently serves as Prof. of the Natural Sciences Division, Department of Chemistry, Konkuk University, firmly believes that LCD display can become the most thriving field which can boost Korea's international competitiveness among the five next-generation growth engine Consortiums supervised by MOCIE. Kim elaborates on: "Display industry is first of all remarkable in that its futuristic potential demand is great and competition superiority security possibility is big. Since its massproduction since 1995, Korea has secured market initiative, conquering its position as the largest production country globally by posting annual average 22% in the case of LCD and a growth rate of annual average 60% in the event of PDP after 2001 respectively." In the near future, the advent of new media such as flexible display like electronic paper is expected and display industry is forecast to lead job creation as well as Korea's export industry in the light of the fact that its growth expectation effect is big, he said. To supply cheaply is the pressing need of the hour. Concerning the latest issues regarding LCD, the Director notes how to enlarge LCD market globally is coming into the limelight as one of the most largest issues in LCD business circles. Prof. Kim who predicts that China will participate in this LCD business in the near future, said that providing Korea, Taiwan, and China comes to start massproduction, enormous supply amount of materials is expected to appear in 2010. Since an exorbitant investment got attained in the meanwhile, he predicts who will lead this LCD market globally, will come to the fore as a big problem. In that regard, Kim explained that to supply cheaply will be the pressing need of the hour. If the price alone can go down, LCD market comes to become bigger naturally. LCD TV furthermore will be one of the necessaries of life in the near future and in the respect, it will be a key point who approaches this market fast, he predicts. According to him, Korea holds the most high possibility in that Korea's initital investment phase has passed by already in terms of facility investment, has launched industry cities for producing LCD in Paju & Tangjeong and holds its production technology fitting to its investment scale. In regard to collaboration possibility with China, Prof. Kim predicts that it will not be easy, explaining that when technology and market will be saturated, it can be attained, but today is not the circumstance. Innovate facility & production technology! As to bolt and key to be able to provoke market enlargement, he asserts as the highest expert of liquid crystal field that we have to innovate facility and production technology all. In the side of the fact that technology innovation can result in market enlargement, Kim said that innovative manufacturing method is needed so that more cheaper LCD TV can be supplied to the general public. In particular, he points out that if associated industry business circles don't equip themselves with competitiveness even within its own country, they can't win in the international arena. In regard of bipolarization between larger companies which produce display products and smaller companies which supply larger companies with display parts, the Director pinpoints that in this sense, parts' localization is urgent since the most ideal is that larger companies use parts from domestic smaller companies, but import them the great majority from abroad. In a certain sense, he proposes it can be a desirable method for the parts localization that larger companies nurture tailor-made smaller companies. Easily speaking, he explained that even from now on, we have to nurture smaller companies which fit to Samsung Electronics or LG Philips LCD and can supply them with tailor-made parts. Urgent bipolarization conquest As a result, the goal of The New Growth Engine Display Center is to overcome such bipolarization of our country display industry so that Korea may secure competitiveness in world market, he says. He emphasizes that Korea must take the initiative in nurturing world LCD market rather than Taiwan or China, explaining that the goal also we want to compete, is not to kill Taiwan and China. By mapping out and driving forward strategic, & differentiated R&D planning according to features by products which are in the stages of market penetration or research/development along with established product's competitiveness maintenance which is in the stages of market saturation, the New Growth Engine Display Center will do its best to accomplish global No. 1 Display Korea, he pledges. Through this New Growth Engine Display Center project, he has committed himself to create the wealth of the future nation plus accomplishing a superpower of display industry technology by materializing a dream of display industry with the socalled strategic national RDM (Research, Development, Management system.