Independent 5-year Consumer Electronics Industry Forecasts for South Korea

South Korea’s consumer electronics devices market, defined as the addressable market for computing devices, mobile handsets and AV products, is projected to be worth around US$12.7bn in 2011. This is expected to increase to US$15.1bn by 2015, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% – slower than in the preceding five years. Smartphones, and smartphone/tablet hybrids, based on the Android operating system, are expected to be a growth area in 2011, while new technologies such as 3D TV and internet-enabled TV will help to stimulate demand in the AV segment. The rollout of digital TV broadcasting ahead of analogue switchoff in 2013 will help support sales of premium TV sets.

Computers

Computers accounted for around 34% of South Korean consumer electronics spending in 2010. Researchers forecast South Korean PC sales of US$3.6bn in 2011. The CAGR for the 2011-2015 period will be around 5%, but there will be growth areas in multimedia and entertainment notebooks. The PC segment’s return to positive growth has been driven by stronger notebook sales. The emergence of tablets has created a new battleground for foreign vendors to compete with domestic leaders such as Samsung and LG.

AV

Video, audio and gaming devices accounted for around 20% of South Korean consumer electronics spending in 2010. South Korea’s domestic video, audio and gaming device market is projected at US$2.6bn in 2011. Video applications will account for around 60% of demand during the 2011-2015 forecast period, with growth areas linked to new technologies such as ‘smart TVs’, LED TV sets, 3D TV and Blu-ray.

Mobile Handsets

South Korean market mobile handset and handset device sales accounted for around 46% of South Korean consumer electronics spending in 2010. Total South Korean market handset sales are expected to grow to 28mn units in 2015, with the market driven mainly by replacements as penetration has reached 200%. With mobile market leader SK Telecom planning 30 new smartphone launches in 2011, the smartphone segment should blossom, with operators introducing more flexible data plans for subscribers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary  

SWOT Analysis  
South Korea Consumer Electronics Market SWOT. 7
South Korea Electronics Industry SWOT  8
South Korea Political SWOT  9
South Korea Economic SWOT  10
South Korea Business Environment SWOT . 11

Asia Business Environment Ratings

Consumer Electronics Market
Computers. 15
Table: Computers: Demand  15
AV . 17
Table: AV: Demand  17
Mobile Handsets . 19
Table: Mobile Handsets: Demand  19

Consumer Electronics Industry  
Table: Electronics Output . 25
Semiconductors . 26
Table: Semiconductors . 26
Table: Camera Module Production  27
Table: Silicon Wafer Production  27
Table: EC Card Production  27
Computers. 29
Table: Computers: Production . 29
AV . 29
Table: MP3 Player Production . 30
Table: Plasma TV Set Production . 30
Table: LCD TV Set Production . 30
Table: Digital Video Recorder Production . 30
Table: LCD Monitor Production  30
Mobile Handsets . 32
Table: Mobile Handsets – Production  33

Industry Forecast Scenario
Table: Consumer Electronics Overview  34

Industry Developments

Macroeconomics Forecast  
Table: South Korea -– Economic Activity, 2008-2015  40

Competitive Landscape
Computers. 41
Handsets . 42
AV . 46
Domestic Company Profiles . 48
Samsung Electronics . 48