Food, beauty and space names contribute to Korean IP trove

[Photo by MK DB]

Innovation is not restricted to IT and traditional manufacturers in South Korea as food, beauty and aerospace names have been eagerly incorporating high-tech to pave the way for novelties.

According to the joint analysis of Korean companies’ globally registered patents by Maeil Business Newspaper and global patent data analytics firm LexisNexis on Wednesday, Samsung Electronics was unrivalled top in the list of top 30 Innovative Korean firms, beating runner-up LG Electronics by a big margin. LG Chemical, LG Display, Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Samsung SDI made the upper rank.

The same names appear on the top 100 innovative company list jointly picked by Maeil Business Newspaper and LexisNexis released in March. Samsung Electronics topped the global rankings, too.

The latest innovation ranking included not just mainstay industries electronics, automobiles and heavy industries but also food, cosmetics and aerospace sectors.

CJ, the country’s biggest food conglomerate and entertainment business, ranked 16th on the list, while major cosmetics company AmorePacific came at 24th and Hanwha Aerospace at 30th.

CJ owns massive patents in various countries worldwide, including China, the United States, Japan, Germany, Brazil, France, Britain, Russia, Italy, and Austria, thanks to its growing presence in the global food and entertainment sectors.

“Most corporations have registered their international patents in key markets Korea, the U.S., and major European countries. But CJ has been rapidly increasing its patent registrations in various nations, especially in China, Japan, and Brazil,” said Kim Dong-hyeong, a senior researcher at LexisNexis. Its recent patents are mainly for nucleic acid-based substances used for food seasoning and gene expression technology.

Cosmetic giant AmorePacific has registered patents mainly in China, the U.S., and Japan but has been adding filing in Taiwan since 2016. It has focused on investing in color cosmetics. Hanwha Aerospace who supplied the engines for country’s first homemade three stage-rocket Nuri made 30th in patent counts.

KT&G, ranked 17th on the list, has grown through innovation after it has secured competitiveness in electronic cigarettes, increasing related patents, which share 25 percent of the firm’s patents.

LG Chemical (3rd) and SK innovation (19th) have succeeded in changing their primary business areas, according to the analysis of their recent patents. LG Chemical ranked 23rd on the global list, thanks to a rapid rise in patents for lithium-ion battery technologies. The ratio of electrodes-related patents rose to 15 percent in 2022 from 11 percent in 2012.

By Lee Sae-bom, Jung Hee-young, and Jenny Lee

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]