Samsung and LG Dominate World TV Market

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics lead the global TV market, becoming the first Korean companies to dominate a market. In terms of total sales, Samsung Electronics became No.1, while LG Electronics sold the largest amount of TV sets.

The rankings are based solely on finished TV products, not TV parts, meaning that Samsung and LG have succeeded in earning global attention for their brands.

According to the “Worldwide TV Production and Market Forecast,” a report released on August 19 by Displaysearch, a market research institute, Samsung`s worldwide TV market share in the second quarter of 2005 was 9.9 percent in terms of sales, slightly surpassing Japan`s Matsushita Electronics (Panasonic), whose market share was 9.7 percent.

Sony was ranked at third with 8.8 percent, followed by LG Electronics (8.3 percent) and Philips (8.1 percent).

In terms of sales volume of TV sets, LG Electronics led the market by taking 9.8 percent in the second quarter of 2005, increasing its market share by two percentage points from 7.5 percent in the same period last year.

Suk-Min Hong smhong@donga.com