Korea looks to increase subsidies it has been offering to OLED technology-related business projects to remain ahead of Chinese competitors, reported Korea Times.

Plans of allocating a new budget on the investment of OLED-associated projects will be in place around 2017, said Kim Jeong-hwa, director of the electronic component policy bureau at Korean government agency. These subsidies are initiated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

Observing the oversupply condition in LCD display market, many start to fear that the same would happen to OLED disply market though it’s still a long way for OLED to reach that point.

The Korean government has been cutting subsidies for display since 2013. MOTIE invested KRW 27.6 billion (US $23.98 million) on research and R&D projects in 2013 and slashed the subsidies to only KRW 9.3 billion (US $8.08 million) in 2016. The cut worries many that Korea may lost its leading position in the development race of OLED in the long run.

Therefore, Han San-Beom, the chairman of Korea Display Association and CEO of leading Korean OLED manufacturer LG Display, urged MOTIE to increase its subsidies in OLED.

Meanwhile, industry insiders are convicned that it's very unlikely for Chinese manufacturers to catch up in the near future.