South Korea's top electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. held the highest number of patents related to wearable electronics devices, data showed Thursday, reflecting its latest efforts to tap deeper into the smartwatch segment.

The number of wearable patents held by Samsung came to 600 over the 2003-2014 period, outpacing other global tech rivals, according to the data compiled by the Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

The Netherlands-based Philips followed with around 500 patents, while LG Electronics Inc. and Japan's Canon Inc. each held some 450, the researcher added.

By country, Japan accounted for 27.6 percent of global wearable technologies, followed by the United States with 22.5 percent and China with 22.4 percent.

South Korea accounted for 9.4 percent with 6,036 wearable technology patents.

Wearable devices, including smartwatches, have been rising as the new area of focus for global tech giants amid the slowing growth in the smartphone market.

In October, Samsung commenced sales of the Samsung Gear S2, its first circular smartwatch. LG also introduced the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition smartwatch in October. (Yonhap)