Brand Values
Brand consulting group Interbrand announced on March 10 that the total brand value of the 50 major brands in Korea is equivalent to 125.155 trillion won (US$110.894 billion). Samsung Electronics accounted for 50.9715 trillion won (US$45.1557 billion) of that, followed by Hyundai Motor Company (11.6705 trillion won, or US$10.3384 billion), and Kia Motors (6.05 trillion won, or US$5.36 billion). They were followed by SK Telecom, Samsung Life Insurance, Naver, LG Electronics, POSCO, Shinhan Card, and KB Kookmin Bank.
Daum Kakao took 37th position, its first time in the top 50. Coway (38th), Shinsegae Department Store (42nd), Hanssem (44th), and Lotte Chisung Beverage (45th) put in their names for the first time, too.
A total of seven subsidiaries of the Samsung Group were found on the top 50 list. The other five were Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (14th), Samsung Card (19th), Samsung C&T (22nd), Samsung Securities (32nd), and Hotel Shilla (35th). Amore Pacific (16th), Doosan Infracore (31st), and CJ Cheil Jedang showed a high brand value growth rate of 20 to 30 percent compared to the previous year.
The combined brand value of the top 30 is approximately 116 trillion won (US$103 billion), while that of the top 30 Japanese brands, according to Interbrand Japan, is about 145 trillion won (US$128 billion). When it comes to the top five, the values are 76 trillion won (US$67 billion) vs. 96 trillion won (US$85 billion).