Paju Electric Glass (PEG), a joint venture founded in 2006 between the world’s third largest LCD glass manufacturer Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) and LG Display, embarked on the construction of a factory for OLED glass, called the next-generation LCD, in Dangdong Industrial Complex designated for foreign investors in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province.

A groundbreaking for the construction was held Friday with Gyeonggi Vice Governor Kim Seong-ryeol, CEO of NEG Arioka Masayuki, CEO of PEG Jun Ooishi and Paju Mayor Lee In-jae attending.

The presence of other 80 people including Gyeonggi lawmakers Kim Gwang-seon and Shin Hyeong-sik and Paju City Councilor Park Jae-in and Executive Director of LG Display Jeong Cheol-dong is an indicator of the strong interests the Gyeonggi local community pays on the construction.

This year, PEG is forecast to make a total of $500 million-investment with creating about 250 jobs including 45 Japanese technicians, the largest amount of investment from a foreign company in the north Gyeonggi since the establishment of Paju LCD Cluster in 2006.

The new factory will enable PEG to conduct all of the manufacturing processes from smelting and molding to processing and cutting in Korea.

Gyeonggi and Paju created a taskforce team in charge of providing necessary administrative supports to the joint-venture to accelerate the construction, right after they inked an investment memorandum of understanding with NEG.

Vice Governor Kim celebrated the construction, saying that “NEG has been setting up strategic cooperative relationship with Gyeonggi via its consistent investment since 2006. The $500 million-investment makes Korea a country that is home to all of the worldwide LCD glass manufacturers holding core technologies of LCD glass, which will enhance Korea’s status as a global leader in LCD.”

Arioka also said, “We can be engaged in all manufacturing processes for LCD glass in Korea. I hope our relentless efforts to strengthen cooperation with Korea’s excellent LCD manufacturers would contribute to the development of the global LCD industry.”

** Companies holding core technologies of LCD glass – Schott, NEG, AvanStrate (located in Gyeonggi), Asahi Glass (in Gyeongsang), Corning (Chungcheong)

** Since the establishment of the joint-venture PEG in Dandong Industrial Complex in 2006, NEG had invested 50.4 billion won including 21.6 billion won in 2006 and 28.8 billion won in 2010.

Source: Gyeonggi Local Government (Aug. 31, 2012)

** This is the translation of a Korean article.