The South Korean government has announced a major initiative to bolster the country’s display industry by providing approximately 40 billion won ($30 million) in R&D support. According to ChosunBiz, this initiative is driven by the need to maintain South Korea’s technological edge in the global display market, particularly as competition from China intensifies. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is leading this effort, aiming to enhance core technologies in OLED and inorganic light-emitting display development to secure the country’s dominance in next-generation display markets.
| R&D Institution Type | Applicable R&D (Threshold 1) | Applicable R&D (Threshold 2) |
| Companies that are not SMEs or mid-sized enterprises | Up to 50% of R&D costs covered | Up to 33% of R&D costs covered |
| Mid-sized enterprises | Up to 70% of R&D costs covered | Up to 50% of R&D costs covered |
| SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) – Category 3 | Up to 75% of R&D costs covered | Up to 67% of R&D costs covered |
| Others | Up to 100% of R&D costs covered | Up to 100% of R&D costs covered |
The government’s R&D support is structured based on the type of research projects and the size of the organization receiving funding. Core technology R&D projects receive the highest level of support, with large corporations eligible for up to 50% of R&D costs covered, medium-sized enterprises up to 70%, and small businesses up to 75%. Universities and research institutes can receive 100% coverage. Innovative product R&D projects receive slightly lower support, with large corporations eligible for up to 33% of R&D costs covered, medium-sized enterprises up to 50%, small businesses up to 67%, and universities and research institutes 100%.
The total budget allocation of 38.766 billion won ($29.2 million) will fund 40 different R&D projects over a one- to four-year period, including development of inorganic light-emitting display technology, advancements in ultra-high-definition AMOLED light field displays, creation of OLED technology for extreme environments in next-generation mobility, and development of micro-display technology for the metaverse. Additionally, the government has allocated an additional 2.7 billion won ($2 million) for extended reality (XR) R&D, aiming to develop domestically produced XR devices and spatial computing technologies. This investment reflects South Korea’s ambition to reduce dependency on foreign tech giants such as Meta and Apple.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy plans to finalize agreements with selected companies by April or May, with subsidies disbursed based on the established R&D budget. Unlike previous years, where funding was available for the full 12 months, in 2024, support will be provided for only 9 months (April to December). From 2025 onward, full-year funding will be provided from January. A key condition for receiving government support is that if technology development leads to commercial success, companies benefiting from the subsidies must pay a percentage of sales generated from the technology as royalties to the government. The Ministry has set the royalty caps at 10%, 20%, and 40% of government support subsidies for large corporations, medium-sized enterprises, and small businesses, respectively.
