Samsung Electronics has regained a spot on the Fortune list of the world’s 50 most admired companies, according to the survey published by the US economic magazine on Monday.

The tech behemoth this year ranked 49th, becoming the only South Korean company to make the top 50 this year.

Samsung Electronics this year received 7.56 points, slightly up from 7.50 a year earlier. Samsung Electronics marked top scores in five evaluation categories, including innovation, global competitiveness and quality of products/services, while receiving second-highest ratings in four categories including social responsibility and people management.

The firm was named among the world’s most admired companies for the first time in 2005 when it was No. 39. The company had remained high on the list, climbing to No. 21 in 2014.

The company, however, failed to be named to the list in 2017 and 2018, largely due to the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and a series of legal fights surrounding Samsung Group leader Lee Jae-yong.

In 2019, Samsung Electronics tied for 50th with Exxon Mobil. However, the South Korean tech giant again fell off the list the following year.

Fortune's list is based on its poll of some 3,800 corporate executives, directors and analysts. They are asked to select their 10 most admired firms among 670 top-rated companies around the globe, and to give ratings based on evaluation categories.

Apple again came in first place, retaining the top spot for a 14th consecutive year. The remaining top 10 companies in the list, in order, were Amazon, Microsoft, Walt Disney, Starbucks, Berkshire Hathaway, Google parent company Alphabet, JP Morgan, Netflix and Costco.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)