Samsung Electronics Co.'s smartphone brand Galaxy was selected as South Korea's most valuable brand for the seventh consecutive year, a survey showed Sunday.

The Galaxy phone retained the top spot in the second quarter by getting a brand index reading of 940.98 points, out of a possible 1,000 points, according to the survey by Brandstock, a South Korean market research firm.

Brandstock said it expects Galaxy to continue to prevail in the rankings of local brands.

E-Mart, a discount store chain run by retail giant Shinsegae Co., came in second, followed by Naver, a top Internet portal, said Brandstock.

South Korea's top lender KB Kookmin Bank came in fourth place.

KB Kookmin Bank is the flagship of KB Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group.

Brandstock said Raemian, Samsung C&T Corp.'s brand for apartments, nabbed the 33rd spot in the second quarter of this year, up 26 notches from a quarter earlier.

The hike came amid a booming real estate market in recent months. Brandstock said it remains to be seen whether the brand value of Raemian could change, citing government regulations.

The government has announced that it will tighten lending rules on homes in some designated speculative areas to curb real estate speculation.

Meanwhile, Genesis, the luxury sub-brand of Hyundai Motor Co., climbed three notches to take 24th place, the highest among local car brands. (Yonhap)