S. Korea's brand power ranks 10th worldwide: report

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national brand power ranked 10th in the
world this year as measured in terms of products and services sold abroad,
numbers of inbound tourists and familiarity polls taken by foreigners, a
state-run think tank said Wednesday.

The Institute of Industrial Policy Studies (IPS) said at a national
competitiveness forum in Seoul that the value of the country's brand power was
calculated at US$1.08 trillion for 2008.
This marks the third year in a row that the country was in the top 10 among 40
countries surveyed, according to the institute. South Korea came in at 12th in
2004 and 13th the following year.
The United States remained at the top of the ladder with it brand power rated at
$9.03 trillion, followed by Germany, Britain, Japan and France. Other countries
that scored above South Korea were Canada, China, Italy and the Netherlands.
Among local companies, Samsung Electronics maintained the lead slot with it name
value totaling 11.6 trillion won (US$7.7 billion). The world's largest memory
chipmaker and second-largest mobile phone maker has led the pack for the past
nine years.
Hyundai Motor Co. came in second at 5 trillion won, and LG Electronics coming
third at 4.3 trillion won. Kia Motor Corp. and KT filled out the top five.
The institute under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said that Samsung's high
value came from well-established name recognition around the world and efforts by
the company to enhance this image through an aggressive advertising campaign.
Other local companies that led specific business sectors were Kookmin Bank,
Samsung Life Insurance, Lotte Department Store and Emart.
yonngong@yna.co.kr