사르데냐, 이탈리아 - “LG의 유기발광다이오드 (OLED) 기술은 아직 실체가 없다.” 삼성전자 유럽법인 마케팅 총괄의 얘기다.

이는 국내에서 삼성과 LG가 OLED 기술 유출을 놓고 법적 분쟁을 벌이고 있는 가운데 나온 발언이라 더욱 주목되고 있다.

마이클 졸러(Michael Zoeller) 총괄은 독일가전통신협회(GFU)와 베를린박람회(Messe Berlin) 주최로 열린 ‘국제가전박람회(IFA) 2013 글로벌 프레스 콘퍼런스’에서 공식 행사 후 이처럼 밝혔다.

삼성디스플레이와 LG디스플레이간의 법적 분쟁은 정부의 중재로 올해 초부터 화해의 분위기로 이어가던 중, 이달 초 경찰이 삼성에 대한 압수수색을 실시하면서 다시 악화국면으로 빠져들었다.

지난해 7월 검찰은 삼성의 OLED 패널 기술을 유출한 혐의로 LG디스플레이 임직원과 삼성 전•현직 연구원 등 11명을 불구속 기소한 바 있다.

양사는 상대방을 기술 도난 혐의로 고소한 상태다.

LG는 올해 초부터 55인치 OLED 화면 TV를 예약판매하기 시작하면서 대형 패널의 기술력 우위를 주장하고 있다. 이에 맞서 삼성은 중소형 시장에서의 압도적인 시장점유율을 내세우고 있다.

OLED는 다음세대 패널 기술로, LCD보다 더욱 선명하고 깊은 색감을 표현하는 동시에 에너지비용도 절감되지만, 가격은 많게는 10배까지 높다는 단점과 낮은 수율 등의 단점을 안고 있다.

한편, 세계적인 조사기관인 디스플레이서치의 TV 담당자 폴 그레이는 장기적인 관점에서 볼 때, 삼성과 LG의 화해가 빠르면 빠를수록 중국 경쟁자를 따돌리기 쉬워진다고 조언했다.

(코리아헤럴드/ 김지현 기자)



<관련 영문 기사>

Samsung, LG urged to cooperate on OLED

Samsung Electronics’ Europe official dismisses LG’s technology


By Kim Ji-hyun
Korea Herald correspondent


SARDINIA, Italy -- Samsung and LG were urged to reach an agreement on patent sharing to keep at bay the Chinese rivals that are fast on Korea’s heels in terms of OLED technology, an executive at leading research firm said in an interview on Saturday.

“It could be desirable for the companies to share their patents,” said Paul Gray, director of TV Electronics and Europe TV Research at DisplaySearch, on the sidelines of the IFA Global Conference held on the Italian island of Sardinia. “I think that Samsung and LG need to consider where their biggest threats lie. Is it each other or is it Chinese companies, which already have aggressive plans to move into OLED technology?”

OLED is cited as the next-generation display technology with better clarity, color saturation and energy efficiency than LCDs.

Samsung and LG, the world’s top two display makers, both claim dominance over this new panel technology and are in a related legal dispute. A cross-licensing agreement seemed to be in the making early this year, but recently, the police raided Samsung Display’s headquarters and plants.

Despite the turn of events, Samsung still appeared to be skeptical of LG’s OLED technology.

“What has LG shown us on OLED? Nothing,” Michael Zoeller, senior director of TV sales and marketing at Samsung’s Europe headquarters, told The Korea Herald shortly after his official briefing at the conference on Friday.

He also stressed that is important is not the competitor’s doings, but what Samsung does, refusing to take seriously LG’s claims on being an OLED pioneer.

Zoeller’s comments echoed Samsung Display CEO Kim Ki-nam, who, following the recent raid, pronounced that “Samsung is the only company in the world possessing OLED technology,” and that it has no reason to steal from anyone.

Meanwhile, Gray opined that the TV business is not an option for Apple because the popular iPad and iPhone maker isn’t positioned to effectively manage it.

“It doesn’t make sense for Apple to directly compete in the global TV market against Samsung,” he said.

“Apple has very limited product diversity. Most of its key products are selling below $1,000, which allows them to ship in huge volumes. This, combined with high margins, give Apple revenues. However, TVs have much thinner margins but have high product diversity. A large product size means that logistics is a key part of the business,” Gray said, noting that Apple does not possess such an edge.

(jemmie@heraldcorp.com)