Eastman Kodak Company announced Dec. 4 that it would sell substantially all the assets associated with its OLED business to a group of LG companies, and had entered into a technology cross-license agreement with LG Electronics, Inc., which will allow each company broad access to the other’s patent portfolio.  

Epistar, one of Taiwan’s leading LED maker, has reportedly signed a contract to supply more LED chips to Samsung for LCD TV backlights in 2010, according to industry sources.

Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., the world’s No. 4 LED manufacturer, and its affiliate company, Seoul Optodevice Co., Ltd. announced today to raise $248 million in capital. Seoul Semiconductor issued 6.9 million shares at 33.565 dollars per share for a total of $232 million dollars and Seoul Optodevice issued 2.7 million shares at 5.870 dollars per share for a total of $16 million dollars.

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Private Limited will spend 284.7 billion won ($242 million) to acquire a 12 percent stake in S. Korean’s Seoul Semiconductor and a 9 percent stake in affiliate Seoul Optodevice, according to an article on Reuters.

LG Display announced its plan to develop and release large-size OLED panels at FPD International 2009, which took place from Oct 28 to 30, 2009 in Yokohama, Japan.

The South Korean electronics giant LG has chosen Thailand as the first Asean production base for its latest range of televisions.

Lite-On Technology and Everlight Electronics, two of the major LED providers based in Taiwan, are reportedly to be supplying SMD LEDs to Korea’s Samsung and LG from the fourth quarter this year. The two companies will supply LEDs mainly for backlights of 46/47- and 52/55-inch TVs to the two Korean TV makers, according to the report.

Dongwoon Anatech today announced it has selected Tower Semiconductor, Ltd. as its sole manufacturing partner for high volume, energy saving LED lighting devices used in both home and industrial applications. Tower was chosen for its 20V to 60V scalable LDMOS power management process technology which provides design optimization and the lowest die size at any given breakdown voltage.

LG Innotek Co Ltd, an electronic component branch of LG Electronics, is planning to aggressively increase its investment in the blooming LED business and may require outside funding, the Reuters reports, citing senior executives of the company.

Samsung, the Korean electronic giant, is reportedly to be in talks with Sony to supply LED-backlit panels for TVs, according to an article on the Seoul Economic Daily, a Korean-language newspaper. Samsung may supply LED panels measuring 40 inches, 46 inches and 55 inches for Sony’s LED TVs, while it currently has no plan to supply LED-related chips to any of its competitors, according to the report.

Samsung has recently released the LED based SyncMaster XL2370 monitor in Korea. It's a 23” monitor with a Full HD resolution, Samsung’s TOC or Touch Of Color, a stunning 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a 2ms response time. The Samsung XL2370 is Samsung’s highest performance display and the first to incorporate LED technology, giving the model a super-slim profile and significant energy-saving benefits.

Samsung Electronics on July 24 posted an impressive set of its second quarter earnings. For the three months through June, operating profits were just over $2 billion, a fivefold increase on the first quarter and up 5% from a year earlier. The total revenue was $26 billion, up 13.4% from the first quarter and 11.7% from the same period last year.

MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd., a S. Korean provider of analog and mixed signal semiconductor products, newly entered the power LED driver market. MagnaChip announced today that it released two new LED driver models (MAP1040, MAP1042) for constant current-based portable applications.  

Korean researchers have developed a new, simpler white LED that shows promise as a more efficient and stable source of pure white light for improved illumination of homes and offices. The new approach yielded what the scientists describe as the most efficient and stable source of pure white light ever achieved.

Seoul Semiconductor announced on May 12 the launch of its 120lm/W high-efficiency, SMD type LED for general lighting. The LCW100Z1 delivers over 120lm/W with an enhanced primary optic including enhanced heat transfer and the metal substrate, according to the company, while the pricing of the LCW100Z1 is comparable to similar-sized Chip LED’s that can tolerate only half of the current.

BluGlass Limited recently announced that it has signed a term sheet outlining the material, terms and conditions to be encompassed in an Exclusive Sales and Marketing License Agreement with BLK CO., LTD (BLK) of Korea. This term sheet is a significant advancement in the commercialization of BluGlass and marks the first steps towards a full customer agreement.

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched today its first LED TV products in global markets. The new line of LED flat panel TVs include Series 8000, 7000 and 6000, coming from 32-inch to 55-inch in sizes. With LEDs as the primary light source, the new TVs feature ultra-high contrast ratios compared to the traditional TVs using Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps. And the motion blur and image judder problems typically affecting LCD TVs have also been substantially reduced in the new LED TVs, said the company.