South Korea’s leading brands gained value as artificial intelligence infrastructure investment boosted semiconductor companies Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Brand Finance’s Korea 150 2026 ranking, released on the 6th, valued the country’s 10 brands with disclosed figures at a combined $196.707 billion, or about 272 trillion won, up $11.099 billion, roughly 6%, from a year earlier. Samsung Electronics remained South Korea’s most valuable brand at $97.415 billion, up 8.9%, while SK hynix ranked third at $15.76 billion, up 15.2%, supported by demand for high-bandwidth memory and AI server chips and by strong earnings. Hyundai Motor stayed second despite a 6.1% decline to $24.82 billion, while Kia and LG Electronics also fell. Coupang, Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group, Hyundai Mobis and Samsung C&T completed the top 10. Financial and defense companies posted notable ranking gains beyond the top 10. The combined value of South Korea’s 150 largest brands reached about $357 billion, up $14.8 billion, or 4.3%, as innovation, advanced manufacturing and export competitiveness strengthened the country’s position in industries expected to lead the global economy.