A luminescent diode (LED) that improves brightness uniformity, a fabrication method thereof, and a backlight assembly having the same are disclosed. The LED includes an LED chip that emits light in a side surface of an LCD device; and an optical guide element on the LED chip that enlarges a radiation angle of the light. The LED may alternatively include an LED chip that emits light on a bottom surface of the LCD device; and an optical guide element on the LED chip that enlarges a radiation angle of the light. The radiation angle of light maximally enlarged to prevent hot spots caused by brightness nonuniformity. An enhanced image quality results.