By Choi Kyong-ae
Staff Reporter


Korea is in dire need of a systematic effort to raise its national brand value, a government-affiliated research organization said Tuesday.

At the Brand Conference 2005 in Seoul, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, the organizer, announced the rankings of 37 countries on the basis of their national brand value. Korea ranked 13, marking the third consecutive drop in the annual rankings.

The research center said that Korea’s national brand was evaluated at $594.7 billion this year, up from $485 billion last year. However, its 13th ranking means a rung down from last year. In 2003 and 2002, Korea ranked 10th and ninth.

The brand value is computed on the basis of exports of products, services, tourism for the three years combined with a national competitiveness index and a survey of 1,472 people in 65 countries, the institute said.

The institute attributed the continued slide in Korea’s brand value and downgrading in the survey of foreigners to lack of promotional efforts by the government as well as the private sector.

To empower Korea’s brand value, the institute stressed that all-out efforts by the government, corporations and individuals should be mounted in a systematic manner.

The United States placed No. 1 with its brand value estimated at $4.165 trillion. Germany was second with $2.890 trillion; Britain third at $1.771 trillion and France came fourth at $1.639 trillion.

Japan, which was third last year, slid two notches to the fifth place with its brand value amounting to $1.676 trillion. China placed eighth with a shade under the $1 trillion mark, going up one place from last year.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics’ brand value was estimated at 31.2 trillion won or about $30 billion, up 10 trillion won from last year. Korea’s biggest company has kept its No. 1 spot for six years in a row.

SK Telecom was second at 7.7 trillion won, Hyundai Motor third at 6.4 trillion won, KT and POSCO fourth equal at 5.3 trillion won and LG Electronics sixth at 3.7 trillion won.

The brand value of Kia Motors and KTF was estimated at 1.8 trillion won respectively, while SK Corp. was valued at 1.6 trillion won and Samsung SDI at 1.1 trillion won.

Among others, were Kookmin Bank whose brand value was estimated at 3.2 trillion won; Samsung Insurance at 1.4 trillion won; Lotte Department Store at 2.1 trillion won and Internet portal Naver at 169 billion won.

godamon@koreatimes.co.kr