South Korea has claimed the top spot in the world for micro light-emitting diode (LED) patents, data showed on Sunday.

According to an analysis conducted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office on micro LED patents registered in advanced economies including the United States and China from 2013 to 2022, Korea accounted for the largest number of patents at 1,567 (23.2 percent).

Japan followed with 1,360 patents (20.1 percent), China with 1,271, the U.S. with 1,080, and the European Union with 750.

Micro LEDs, a cutting-edge display technology in which individual LED elements smaller than 100 micrometers (μm) directly emit light onto pixels, offer several advantages over traditional technologies such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

The new-generation LEDs boast precise control over each LED element for superior contrast ratios, absence of image degradation or ghosting, lower power consumption, and rapid response times.

Korea is home to four display patent giants, including LG Innotek Co., Samsung Electronics Co., and Samsung Display Co., all of which came among the world‘s top ten display patent holders.

Korea’s micro LED patents nearly doubled from 540 in 2013 to 1,045 in 2022, recording an annual average growth rate of 7.6 percent.

By Ko Jae-won and Han Yubin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]