India's EBG Group signed a licensing agreement late last month with POSCO International, which holds the "Daewoo (DAEWOO)" trademark, to use the Daewoo brand in India's home appliance market. EBG Group plans to launch major appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners under the Daewoo brand.
EBG Group said it will invest 1 billion rupees (about 16 billion won) over the next three years in expanding distribution networks and product development, including opening about 100 Daewoo appliance stores by next year. A POSCO International official said, "In regions where the Daewoo brand has high recognition, demand for the trademark is still quite strong."
Even after Daewoo Group, once No. 2 in Korea's business community, was dismantled in the aftermath of the 1999 foreign exchange crisis, the Daewoo brand still carries weight overseas. POSCO International is generating about 16 billion won in annual trademark revenue by leveraging the Daewoo mark.
According to a business report from POSCO International on the 12th, as of the end of last year the Daewoo brand had a total of 3,420 registered trademarks in 175 countries at home and abroad. They include "DAEWOO," "大宇," and the Daewoo emblem.
POSCO International holds Daewoo trademark rights in Korea and abroad and runs a brand business utilizing them. Under licensing agreements, users of the Daewoo mark pay POSCO International a set amount in royalties.
A POSCO International official said, "Dozens of corporations have signed Daewoo trademark licensing agreements and are paying royalties (fees)."
POSCO International traces its roots to Daewoo Corporation, the predecessor of Daewoo Group. After the group's dissolution, Daewoo International, established at the end of 2000 through a spin-off of the trading institutional sector of Daewoo Co., Ltd., took over the Daewoo trademark rights. When POSCO acquired Daewoo International in 2010, it changed its name to POSCO Daewoo in 2016 and then to POSCO International in 2019, while retaining ownership of the Daewoo mark.
Before POSCO acquired Daewoo International, Daewoo trademark revenue was around 2.9 billion won in 2009. In 2011, after the acquisition, it lent the mark to Daewoo Electronics and Daewoo Electronic Components, generating about 3 billion won in revenue.
Daewoo trademark royalty revenue then surged to 7.1 billion won in 2021 and exceeded 10 billion won for the first time in 2023 (10.1 billion won). Last year, royalty revenue was 15.8 billion won, up about 13% from 2024 (14 billion won).
Most Daewoo trademark revenue comes from overseas use. That is because POSCO International holds exclusive ownership of the Daewoo mark abroad.
POSCO International said demand for Daewoo trademark rights is strong mainly in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), the Middle East, Central and South America, Europe, and China. The mark is primarily used for electronics, auto parts, and tools.
In business circles, the view is that the strong recognition Daewoo Group built in emerging markets during former Chairman Kim Woo-choong's "global management" era still resonates with local consumers. In particular, after the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, Daewoo Group aggressively expanded overseas production bases and sales networks by building appliance and automobile plants in Eastern Europe.
At the time, Daewoo Electronics was recognized as a prestigious appliance maker in Eastern Europe. Daewoo Electronics acquired a Polish appliance company and pursued a localization strategy of producing locally, rising to No. 1 in market share in Poland's appliance market. In 1995, it even declared it would make Russia its second domestic market.
Daewoo Motor also held a strong status as a "people's car" in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It acquired car companies in Romania and Poland and established local production. It also swept the Russian auto market by exporting cars produced in Uzbekistan to Russia tariff-free.
Turkish appliance company Vestel signed a 10-year agreement in 2021 with POSCO International to use the Daewoo trademark and is selling appliances bearing the Daewoo brand. Vestel is exporting a range of Daewoo-branded appliances to Russia, the CIS region, and the Middle East.
The Daewoo brand is also showing resilience in the Middle East and Central and South American appliance markets. In the late 1980s, Daewoo Electronics was the first among Korea's appliance makers to export TVs to the Middle East. The "tank doctrine," which emphasized durability, was a symbol of Daewoo appliance quality. In the early 1990s, after establishing an appliance plant in Mexico, it boasted strong brand power in Mexico and Central and South America.
A POSCO International official said, "In regions where Daewoo Group once held strong standing, awareness and trust in the Daewoo brand remain high," adding, "Past brand asset is translating into demand for the trademark."
In Korea as well, POSCO International is the registered holder for all Daewoo marks filed with the Ministry of Intellectual Property. However, depending on the designated goods, some are still registered with former Daewoo affiliates as joint owners. In Korea, if a company that used to be a Daewoo affiliate is registered as a joint user of the trademark, it does not pay royalties, but when using the Daewoo mark overseas, it must pay royalties to POSCO International.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction, which was launched when the construction institutional sector of Daewoo Co., Ltd. was partitioned, is a representative example. In Korea, Daewoo Engineering & Construction does not pay royalties because it is registered as a joint owner in the construction field. By contrast, in overseas markets it pays royalties to POSCO International and uses the mark under a perpetual license.