KT&G Receives Administrative Security Department Excellence Award

According to a report by tobaccoreporter on September 18, Korean Tobacco and Ginseng (KT&G) received the Grand Prize from the Ministry of Administration and Security at the 12th Korea Knowledge Awards Conference held in South Korea.

The Korean Knowledge Award is the highest honor in the field of knowledge in South Korea. It is awarded to government, public institutions, and private enterprises that have achieved outstanding accomplishments in knowledge management, promoted government innovation, and enhanced corporate competitiveness.

KT&G was the only private enterprise to receive this award, thanks to its achievements in knowledge management, which include establishing a dedicated intellectual property department and implementing intellectual property processes.

KT&G has established a specialized intellectual property organization and developed a unique intellectual property computer system to enable efficient management. Additionally, they promote internal research and development and technological innovation by organizing events such as Patent Week and nurturing innovative business ideas among employees, leading to the generation of patent applications.

The number of domestic patent applications by KT&G has seen a staggering increase of 440%, rising from 82 in 2017 to 444 in 2022. Additionally, the company's intellectual property applications, both domestically and internationally, have witnessed a remarkable growth of over 3800%, soaring from 27 in 2017 to 1065 in 2022. As of now, the total number of registered trademarks amounts to 7132.

KT&G, a South Korean tobacco company, has recently been recognized for its significant contributions to the protection of national industrial technology and the advancement of the intellectual property system. At the 56th Invention Day event hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, KT&G received the Prime Minister's Award. Additionally, the company ranked third in the 2021 Korean Enterprise European Patent Index published by the European Patent Office, just below Samsung and LG. This year, KT&G was also selected as one of the top 100 companies leading innovation worldwide by LexisNexis, a global intellectual property solutions provider.

Cho Seong-moon, Head of R&D at KT&G, has expressed that the company aims to become a leading global enterprise by continuously improving its knowledge management capabilities, leveraging its technological competitiveness, and swiftly adapting to the ever-changing market dynamics.