KT&G is the leading tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 company in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 with annual sales over $2 billion USD. KT&G was originally a government

Government of South Korea

The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...

-owned monopoly

Monopoly

A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...

 but today is majority-owned by foreigners and must compete for market share

Market share

Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...

 with the world's largest tobacco firms such as British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...

, Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco

, abbreviated JT, is a cigarette manufacturing company. It is part of the Nikkei 225 index. In 2009 the company was listed at number 312 on the Fortune 500 list. The company is headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo. The international headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.-History:The company...

, and Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...

. KT&G’s sales volume share was 62% of the Korean market in 2009.

KT&G produces popular Korean cigarette

Cigarette

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...

 brands such as: The One, Indigo, Arirang, This, This Plus, Zest, Esse, Raison, and Lo Crux. It has been expanded outside Korea, especially through its superslims brand Esse in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and other eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

an markets.

KT&G also has significant affiliates such as a ginseng

Ginseng

Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....

 corporation, a pharmaceutical firm, and several bio ventures. Its headquarters are in Daejeon

Daejeon

Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...

.

Tobacco brands

• Carnival (Overseas, primarily USA )
• Pine (Oversea)
• Bohem Cigar No.1
• Bohem Cigar No.3
• Bohem Cigar No.5
• Bohem Cigar No.6
• Bohem Cigar Mojito
• Cloud9
• Cloud9 1 mg
• Esse Special Gold
• Esse Blend IN 3
• Esse One
• Esse Field
• Esse Menthol
• Esse Lights premium cigarette
• Esse Classic
• Esse Soon 0.5
• The One fresh
• The One 1
• The One 0.5
• Raison
  Raison (cigarette)
  RAISON is a cigarette produced by KT&G. RAISON is one of the most popular cigarettes in South Korea.-Lineup:-export:...
  
  Red
• Raison Blue
• Raison Black
• Raison Fresh
• Indigo
• Arirang
• Y 1mm
• Y 3mm
• Ents 1mm
• Lo Crux
• Lo Crux M
• Wind
• Zest
• Vision
• Humming Time
• Timeless TIME Light
• Timeless TIME
• Simple
• Doraji Yeon
• RICH
• THIS
• THIS plus
• Hanaro
• Lilic
• Lilac Menthol
• Rose
• Hallasan
• Eighty eight light
• Black Jack
• Hoopa (Discontinued)
• Edge

External link and Reference

KT&G Homepage