South Korea's exports of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays are expected to jump nearly 20 percent on-year to an all-time high in 2021 on growing global demand, sources said Wednesday.

Overseas shipments of OLED panels are projected to soar 19.6 percent on-year to $13 billion this year, accounting for more than 70 percent of overall display exports, according to the industry ministry and the Korea Display Industry Association.

Bolstered by the sharp increase, South Korea's overall display exports are forecast to come to $18.4 billion this year, up 2.4 percent from the previous year.

The expected increase reverses the downtrend for the past three years. South Korea's display exports fell to $18 billion last year from $20.5 billion in 2019 and $24.7 billion in 2018.

Last year, OLED display exports rose 6.4 percent on-year to a new high of $10.9 billion, reaching the $10 billion mark for the third year on end. South Korea also retained the top spot in the global OLED market in 2020.

OLED is highlighted by self-illuminating pixels that do not require a separate light source, allowing manufacturers to produce lightweight, thin and flexible display products.

Industry watchers said that this year's brisk OLED exports will be powered by strong demand from makers of OLED TVs, premium smartphones and other OLED-using products.

The rosy outlook comes as the global display market is projected to post resilient growth this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to market researcher Omdia, the world display market is likely to grow 13.8 percent to $139.8 billion this year, bolstered by the expansion of untact IT products and premium OLED products.

The global market for OLED panels is predicted to soar 28.4 percent on-year on the back of rising demand for TVs and premium products, including foldable phones and rollable TVs.

The world liquid crystal display (LCD) market is forecast to increase 9.3 percent on-year thanks to rising prices of LCDs for TVs and growing demand for untact IT goods. (Yonhap)