Samsung Electronics’ IFA 2025 booth (Image courtesy of Samsung Electronics)
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top electronics makers, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, are restructuring their television businesses amid mounting losses and intensifying competition from Chinese rivals.
Samsung’s video display unit has expanded its voluntary retirement program to include more senior staff and halted the intake of new employees through internal transfers, according to industry officials on Tuesday.
The company has also begun a management review of the division, which faces declining profitability. LG, which carried out a similar round of voluntary retirements earlier this year, has offered payouts of up to three years’ salary to employees over 50 or those deemed underperforming.
Televisions on display at a major retail store in Seoul (Yonhap)
The retrenchment comes as China’s TCL and Hisense gain ground in the global TV market, leveraging cheaper mid-range products while encroaching on the high-end segment once dominated by Korean brands.
Data from Omdia shows Samsung’s global market share fell to 19.2 percent in the first quarter, while TCL and Hisense surged to a combined 25.6 percent. In the premium segment, their joint share jumped 12 percentage points to 39 percent, while Samsung’s plunged from 39 percent to 28 percent.
Analysts expect Samsung’s display division operating profit to drop to 635 billion won ($467 million) this year, nearly halved from last year’s 1.1 trillion won. LG’s TV unit already slipped into the red in the second quarter.
This file photo provided by LG Display Co. shows its new fourth-generation organic light-emitting diode panel at the company’s office in northwestern Seoul. (Yonhap)
To reclaim momentum, Samsung unveiled a 115-inch RGB Micro LED television at the IFA 2025 trade show in Berlin, positioning it as a “premium LCD” that bridges OLED and traditional LCD displays.
The model boasts higher color reproduction through micro-scale LEDs but comes with a prohibitive price tag of roughly 40 million won ($29,400). Executives said smaller and more affordable models will roll out early next year.
LG, which continues to prioritize OLED, signaled it will also release an RGB TV next year, though with more caution. “We want to provide customers with more options,” CEO Cho Joo-wan said.
Industry observers say Samsung’s gamble on Micro LED is as much a technological play as a market defense strategy. “It’s about raising the price bar and blocking Chinese brands from gaining ground in premium segments,” said Lee Choong-hoon, head of UBI Research.
Still, with high prices and eroding market share, both Samsung and LG face a steep climb to maintain their leadership in the global TV industry.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
