LG Display to replace its chief executive amid mounting losses

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd <034220.KS> on Monday said it has named LG Chem <051910.KS> President Jeong Ho-young as its new chief executive officer.

LG Display, a supplier to Apple <AAPL.O>, said in a statement that Chief Executive Han Sang-beom offered to step down over mounting losses.

LG Display has been struggling with a global supply glut in liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) used in television sets, which has pushed down prices. Like many other global tech firms, it is also dealing with uncertainties caused by a Sino-U.S. trade dispute involving import tariffs on tech goods and services.

The display maker said in a statement it held an emergency board meeting to accept Han's resignation and appointed Jeong, the current chief operation officer and chief finance officer at LG Chem.

The appointment of a new CEO is subject to the approval of shareholders at a meeting scheduled next March.

In the second quarter, LG Display said its operating loss widened to 369 billion won (£251.5 million) from 228 billion won a year earlier, hit by declining prices of its main product, 50-inch liquid-crystal displays (LCDs).

"The global supply and demand balance in the display industry is still off as government-backed Chinese display makers are pouring out panels, leading to drop the display prices," said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.

LG Display's cross-town rival Samsung Display said in August it is considering suspending one of its LCD production lines in South Korea due to a supply glut.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang, editing by Louise Heavens and Christian Schmollinger)