Digital TV Leading Total TV Sales in South Korea Apr 14, 2004

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Major South Korean electronics makers expect their digital television sales to account for nearly 70 percent of their total TV sales this year, industry sources said.

The forecast was based on the rapid increase in sales of Korean digital TVs at home and abroad in the first quarter of the year.

According to the sources, LG Electronics Inc., said to be South Korea's number two electronics firm after rival Samsung Electronics Co., predicts its digital TV sales to reach more than 70 percent of its TV sales in 2004.

The company estimated that its digital TV sales grew by double digits in the first three months of 2004 compared to the same period of last year, thanks to a rise in exports to Europe.

LG saw its digital TV sales make up 60 percent of its TV sales in 2003, up approximately 10 percentage points from the previous year.

Samsung Electronics expected its digital TV sales to account for 60 percent of its total TV sales this year.

"Our digital TV sales grew by 40 percent every year. Especially in the first quarter of this year, traditionally regarded as off season, digital TV sales almost tripled from a year earlier," said Shin Man-yong, vice president in charge of the firm's Visual Display Business Division.

In 2003, Samsung's digital TV sales formed half of its total TV sales, up nearly 20 percentage points from a year ago.

Daewoo Electronics Co. also raised its predicted percentage of digital TV sales by 2 percentage points to 25 percent of all TV sales for 2004, as its digital TV sales almost quadrupled on-year in the first quarter of this year.

In March, South Korea saw digital TV exports increase 88.9 percent year-on-year but its imports dipped 28.6 percent. (Yonhap)

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