Korean companies reduced their advertising expenses in 2014 due to declining profits, watchers said.

Among the country’s top 30 conglomerates, the largest advertising spender Samsung Electronics paid over 700 billion won, albeit 26 percent less than in the previous year.

Despite its increasing profits, AmorePacific, a cosmetics giant, also reduced its ad spending.

The other top spenders following Samsung Electronics were LG Electronics (down 0.6 percent on-year), Hyundai Motor (up 6 percent) and LG Uplus (up 5.2 percent).

By Ro Ji-woong (jamesro@heraldcorp.com)