The Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announced on May 14 the formation of the Korea Display Industry Association by four Korean flat-panel display makers: Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, LG Electronics, and LG.Philips. With the establishment of this association, the four makers will work towards sharing patents in LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and PDP (Plasma Display Panel) technologies, cross-purchasing one another's panels, and collaborating on R&D activities. Moreover, the four companies agreed to purchase more panel components and equipment from Korean makers instead of from abroad. They will work on standardizing the sizes of their flat-panel displays as well.