Another giant decides to gradually exit the LED business! The reason is →
Reports indicate that Samsung's Device Solutions (DS) division plans to gradually cease LED lighting production at its Giheung campus by 2030. Most employees are expected to be transferred to the company's semiconductor factories in Cheonan or Onyang, South Chungcheong Province. Samsung's LED business covers three main areas: lighting equipment LEDs, TV LEDs, and automotive LEDs.
It is reported that Samsung will first cease production of LED chips for lighting equipment, and then gradually shut down the lighting business within the CSS division in the first half of 2026. The company will subsequently stop its TV LED lighting business in the second half of 2026, and plans to completely exit the automotive LED lighting sector by the end of 2030.
Sources including Samsung Electronics' financial reports and industry analysis indicate that Samsung's LED business has been struggling with profitability for some time. Consequently, executives have decided to reallocate resources to more promising areas, with most employees being reassigned to semiconductor and other divisions.
This shift highlights the long-term underperformance of the LED business, as well as the erosion of market share due to intense price competition from low-cost Chinese products, small enterprises, and well-known foreign brands such as LGE, Osram, and Philips.
On the other hand, industry reports emphasize that the Chinese LED market will grow significantly from 2016 to 2024, with the market size increasing from approximately 50 billion RMB (7 billion USD) to 150 billion RMB, at an annual growth rate of over 10 percentage points. The export share of Chinese LED lighting products has now exceeded 60%, intensifying competition in the global market.
Major Chinese companies driving this growth include NationStar Optoelectronics, BOE, and Sanan Optoelectronics, which hold significant technological and market positions. NationStar, NVC Lighting, and Yangzhou Sunshine Lighting are leaders in the LED lighting equipment sector, while BOE and TCL Lighting hold important positions in the TV LED segment. In the automotive sector, BYD has become a major player.
The continuous expansion of the Chinese LED market size and the rising export share are driving technological innovation and cost control globally, while Samsung's gradual exit highlights the increasing pressure faced by traditional companies amid intensifying global competition.