Seoul, Aug 12 (IANS): The brand value of Samsung Electronics Co. is estimated at near $57.3 billion, the largest among South Korean companies, according to a new report.

The South Korean tech titan was followed by Hyundai Motor in the top Korean brand rankings, according to a brand consulting firm Interbrand, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

South Korea's No. 1 automaker's brand value was estimated at 15.7 trillion won, up 4.8 per cent from a year ago.

Compared to this, Samsung's brand value reached 67.7 trillion won this year, up two per cent from a year ago, said the report.

Hyundai's sister company, Kia Motors, came in third at 7.1 trillion won, while the country's leading web portal operator Naver was fourth at 6.1 trillion won.

The top four companies accounted for 63 per cent of the total brand value of the top 50 companies in South Korea, Interbrand said.

The country's largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, was fifth on the list, followed by Samsung Life Insurance, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, LG Electronics and SK hynix.

Kakao, which runs South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, saw the sharpest hike in its brand value this year, according to Interbrand.

Kakao's brand value was estimated at 1.6 trillion won, up 46.6 per cent from a year ago, said the report.