KT&G

KT&G Corporation, originally established as the state monopoly Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Corporation in April 1989 and headquartered in Daejeon, is the leading tobacco company in South Korea with annual sales exceeding 4 billion US dollars. Since privatization it has competed with international tobacco firms such as Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco, holding about 62 percent of the Korean market in 2009, and produces cigarette brands including The One, Indigo, Arirang, Esse and Raison, with its superslim Esse brand finding particular success in Eastern European markets. Beyond tobacco, the company owns subsidiaries such as Korea Ginseng Corporation and the pharmaceutical firm Yungjin Pharm along with several biotechnology ventures.