An apparatus for sensing a failure of a light emitting diode, LED, string, the apparatus comprising: a current control unit to apply a current to at least one first LED string and at least one second LED string that are connected in parallel with each other; at least one first failure sensor to sense whether a failure occurs with respect to each of the at least one first LED string; at least one second failure sensor to sense whether a failure occurs with respect to each of the at least one second LED string; and a failure result judgment unit to transmit failure information to the current control unit when a failure is sensed with respect to at least one of the at least one first LED string and the at least one second LED string, as the sensing result of the at least one first failure sensor and the at least one second failure sensor, wherein, when the failure information is received, the current control unit blocks the entire current that is applied to the at least one first LED string and the at least one second LED string; and characterized by a malfunction monitor unit to provide a malfunction result to the current control unit by recognizing whether malfunctions occur with respect to the at least one first failure sensor and the at least one second failure sensor due to an input voltage applied to the current control unit that is not sufficient for turning on the at least one first LED string and for the at least one second LED string, wherein the malfunction monitor unit controls the failure result judgment unit to recognize sensing results of the at least one first failure sensor and the at least one second failure sensor only when the applied input voltage is greater than a malfunction setting voltage, by applying a voltage to the malfunction monitor unit that is equal to the input voltage that is applied to the current control unit. a current control unit to apply a current to at least one first LED string and at least one second LED string that are connected in parallel with each other; at least one first failure sensor to sense whether a failure occurs with respect to each of the at least one first LED string; at least one second failure sensor to sense whether a failure occurs with respect to each of the at least one second LED string; and a failure result judgment unit to transmit failure information to the current control unit when a failure is sensed with respect to at least one of the at least one first LED string and the at least one second LED string, as the sensing result of the at least one first failure sensor and the at least one second failure sensor, wherein, when the failure information is received, the current control unit blocks the entire current that is applied to the at least one first LED string and the at least one second LED string; and characterized by a malfunction monitor unit to provide a malfunction result to the current control unit by recognizing whether malfunctions occur with respect to the at least one first failure sensor and the at least one second failure sensor due to an input voltage applied to the current control unit that is not sufficient for turning on the at least one first LED string and for the at least one second LED string, wherein the malfunction monitor unit controls the failure result judgment unit to recognize sensing results of the at least one first failure sensor and the at least one second failure sensor only when the applied input voltage is greater than a malfunction setting voltage, by applying a voltage to the malfunction monitor unit that is equal to the input voltage that is applied to the current control unit.