Philip Morris IQOS VEEV May Launch in South Korea, Series Trademarks Already Filed

PMI’s vaping product “IQOS VEEV” may soon launch in the South Korean market. Philip Morris Products S.A., PMI’s Swiss headquarters, is applying to register the trademarks “VEEV One Ultra” and “VEEV Now Ultra” with the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

According to a Newsis report from Seoul on October 23, Philip Morris Products S.A., PMI’s Swiss headquarters, is filing trademark applications for “VEEV One Ultra” and “VEEV Now Ultra” with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. However, no official launch plan for the product in South Korea had previously been confirmed. Industry observers are showing strong interest in whether PMI (Philip Morris) can bring its vaping product “IQOS VEEV” into the Korean tobacco market. 

“IQOS VEEV” already has a broad consumer base worldwide and is sold in more than ten countries, including Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Ukraine, and New Zealand. Whether the product will now be rolled out in South Korea remains unclear. 

South Korea’s KT&G launched a similar vaping product, Real Viper, in 2019, but discontinued sales the following year. JUUL, the tobacco company holding a 70% share of the vaping market in the United States, withdrew from South Korea in 2020 after testing the market for just one year. 

Previously, British American Tobacco launched the vaping brand “Vuse Go 800,” but only in the greater Seoul metropolitan area.
Because trademark applications are usually filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office before a new product launch, some speculate that “IQOS VEEV” is about to be introduced.
PMI has already launched products in the more mature U.S. and European vaping markets. If PMI moves forward with a vaping product launch, it is expected to reshape the domestic market, which has largely centered on cigarette-style e-cigarettes. However, a representative of PMI Korea said, “The launch of ‘IQOS VEEV’ in the Korean market has not been confirmed.”