The South Korean government on Thursday approved a plan to build liquid crystal display (LCD) panel manufacturing lines in China, which was submitted by two of the country's largest electronics brands.

The application by Samsung Electronics and LG Display to export LCD panel technology to China was passed by Prime Minister Chung Un-chan at the 2nd Industrial Technology Safety Commission.

Under the agreement, the two manufacturers will each build a 7.5th-generation and 8th-generation LCD panel plants in China, further boosting their presence in the rapidly emerging Chinese market.

"We recognize the need for a local plant in order to meet growing demands in the Chinese flat-screen TV industry, and we anticipate this move to also strengthen the overall economic cooperation between the two countries," a government official was quoted as saying by local media Yonhap.

The government also said pre-cautionary measures were added to prevent the illegal leak of information and to protect what they labeled as "national key technology."

Under the current law, export of key technologies such as semiconductor and LCD productions require the government's approval.

LG Display recently developed the world's thinnest LCD panel measuring 2.6 mm, surpassing the previous record held by Samsung Electronics' 3.9 mm panel.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2009)