S. Korea steps up push to shape global display industry standards

The Korea Display Industry Association is joining forces with global display companies to strengthen its response to "de facto standards" — privately developed benchmarks used to evaluate display performance in areas such as image quality, color accuracy and HDR (high dynamic range). The push reflects a growing recognition that industry-driven standards, which take hold in the market far more quickly than formal international standards requiring intergovernmental consensus, are becoming increasingly influential as the pace of technological change accelerates.

The association announced Friday that it will host the ICDM Busan International Conference at Bexco in Busan on Monday and Tuesday, followed by the 2026 Display International Standards Forum on Tuesday afternoon.

The ICDM (International Committee for Display Metrology) is a private standards body under the Society for Information Display that develops measurement methods and criteria for evaluating display performance, including image quality, color and HDR. Its membership includes Samsung Display and LG Display as well as global technology companies such as Apple, Google and Meta.

At the conference, participants will begin work on version 1.4 of the IDMS — the display measurement standard ICDM first published in 2012 — with a target publication date of 2028. Discussions will focus on incorporating new technologies and measurement methods into the standard's benchmarks for image quality, color, HDR and AR/VR displays.

The government and industry are intensifying their engagement with private standards because the pace of display technology development has outrun the formal standards-setting process. As displays expand into new sectors — including automotive, defense and AR/VR — the importance of de facto standards that can quickly reflect industry-specific needs is growing. VESA's DisplayPort, developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association, has already established itself as a de facto global standard.

About 70 experts from industry, academia and research institutions in the United States, Japan, Germany, China and South Korea are expected to attend Tuesday's international standards forum. Chairs and directors of major private standards bodies — including ICDM, VESA and the DFF (German Flat Panel Display Forum) — will present on their standardization activities, industry applications and market impact.

"De facto standards play a critical role in securing the competitiveness and market leadership of the display industry, as they reflect the rapidly changing demands of technology and the market," said Lee Seung-woo, vice chairman of the Korea Display Industry Association. "We will expand our cooperation channels with the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards so that Korea can lead global display standardization discussions."