Samsung's brand value estimated at near 68 tln won: report

SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) – The brand value of Samsung Electronics Co. is estimated at near 68 trillion won (US$57.3 billion), the largest among South Korean companies, a report showed Tuesday.

Samsung's brand value reached 67.7 trillion won this year, up 2 percent from a year ago, according to a brand consulting firm Interbrand.

The South Korean tech titan was followed by Hyundai Motor in the top Korean brand rankings. South Korea's No. 1 automaker's brand value was estimated at 15.7 trillion won, up 4.8 percent from a year ago.

Hyundai's sister company, Kia Motors, came in third at 7.1 trillion won, while the country's leading web portal operator Naver was fourth at 6.1 trillion won.

The top four companies accounted for 63 percent of the total brand value of the top 50 companies in South Korea, Interbrand said.

The country's largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, was fifth on the list, followed by Samsung Life Insurance, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, LG Electronics and SK hynix.

Kakao, which runs South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, saw the sharpest hike in its brand value this year, according to Interbrand. Kakao's brand value was estimated at 1.6 trillion won, up 46.6 percent from a year ago.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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