LG Electronics Inc.’s new 2025 OLED evo (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 8 (Korea Bizwire) — As competition in the AI-powered television market intensifies, South Korea’s tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have reignited a familiar battle—this time over dominance in the premium OLED TV segment.
At Samsung’s Unbox & Discover 2025 event held Monday in Seoul, Yong Seok-woo, president of the company’s Visual Display Division, claimed that Samsung holds approximately 60% of the domestic market share for OLED TVs sized 77 inches and above. He asserted that Samsung is leading not only in South Korea but globally in the large-format OLED segment.
The remarks followed similar comments made by Yong last year, triggering renewed tensions with LG, long considered the industry leader in OLED. LG quickly disputed the claim, stating that Samsung’s data does not accurately reflect the domestic market.
The company pointed to data from research firm Omdia, which showed LG holding a commanding 74.2% share of the 77-inch and larger OLED TV market across Asia (excluding China and Japan) last year, compared to Samsung’s 20.9%.
While Samsung is believed to be referencing data from research firm GfK, LG argued that GfK figures underrepresent key channels such as LG Best Shop and rapidly growing subscription-based sales.
Despite entering the OLED TV market just three years ago, Samsung has expanded its presence significantly—from a 3.1% global market share in 2022 to 23.5% in 2024, according to Omdia. The company now plans to offer a full OLED lineup ranging from 42 to 83 inches and equip all models with its proprietary Vision AI technology, aimed at enhancing the viewing experience.
Samsung Electronics OLED gaming monitors ‘Odyssey OLED G8 (G80SD)’ and ‘Odyssey OLED G6 (G60SD)
Samsung also signaled plans to increase shipment volumes, with Yong stating the company would surpass last year’s figure of 1.4 million OLED units despite global economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, LG continues to maintain its lead, having secured a 52.4% global market share in OLED TV shipments last year—its 12th consecutive year at the top. Still, Samsung’s rapid growth and aggressive expansion strategy have narrowed the gap, intensifying competition.
The rivalry has spilled into the broader AI TV market as well. Last month, Samsung strategically announced pre-orders for its 2025 AI TV lineup to coincide with LG’s new product briefing. On Monday, LG countered Samsung’s product launch with news that it had already begun selling its own AI-enabled OLED TVs across eight European countries.
Despite the OLED dispute, Samsung remains the overall leader in the global TV market, maintaining the top spot by revenue for 19 consecutive years with a 28.3% share in 2024. LG followed in second place with 16.1%.
As both companies double down on premium TV innovation and AI integration, the race for supremacy in the next-generation television market shows no signs of slowing.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
