Korea Philip Morris Wins '2020 National Brand Award' in Foreign Company Category

Baek Young-jae, CEO of Korea Philip Morris (second from the right), received the 2020 National Brand Award.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Sunghye] Korea Philip Morris announced on the 17th that it was selected as the award-winning company in the foreign company category at the ‘2020 National Brand Awards’ ceremony.

Baek Youngjae, CEO of Korea Philip Morris, who attended the awards ceremony the day before, said, “We are grateful that the company’s vision to create a smoke-free future and the brands ‘IQOS’ and ‘HEETS’ have been highly evaluated,” adding, “It is estimated that there are still more than 8 million adult conventional cigarette smokers in Korea, and we will do our best to help them fully switch to smoke-free products.”

Also, Jacek Olczak, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Philip Morris International (PMI), who delivered his acceptance speech via video on the same day, said, “As a foreign company, we are honored to receive this prestigious award in recognition of our efforts to strengthen our brand through science and innovation,” and added, “This award is a recognition of all Philip Morris employees worldwide who have worked to create a ‘smoke-free future.’”

Korea Philip Morris declared ‘a smoke-free future’ as the company’s vision in 2017 and introduced the heated tobacco product ‘IQOS’ in Korea. Since then, it has been boldly innovating with the goal of encouraging conventional cigarette smokers to switch to smoke-free electronic cigarettes. It has also focused on science-based communication to steadily strengthen the brand power of IQOS and its dedicated tobacco product HEETS, continuing activities to enhance consumer understanding.

In particular, Korea Philip Morris made an investment of about 300 billion KRW in 2017 in its tobacco manufacturing plant located in Yangsan, Gyeongnam Province, and currently operates the only HEETS (heated tobacco sticks for electronic cigarettes) production plant in the Asia-Pacific region. All types of HEETS sold domestically are produced here.

Choi Yujin, President of the National Brand Promotion Agency, explained the selection background, saying, “Korea Philip Morris is a company that has led market changes to fundamentally transform the industry by introducing new products that did not previously exist.” President Choi also added, “Korea Philip Morris has shown a good example of bold innovation and challenge based on science and technology to Korean companies and organizations. We will continue to discover such cases to help various Korean brands gain higher value not only domestically but also in the global market.”

The National Brand Awards, hosted by the National Brand Promotion Agency, have been selecting and awarding individuals and companies that have shone in Korean brands since 2015. In the corporate category of the ‘2020 National Brand Awards,’ along with Korea Philip Morris, Mirae Asset Daewoo, SM Entertainment, Microsoft Korea, McDonald’s Korea, BYN Black Yak, and Ewha Diagnostics were honored. This year, pianist Cho Seongjin won in the arts category, and soccer player Son Heungmin won in the sports category.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.