Korean STI policy needs to nurture and utilize its world ... · Korean STI policy needs to nurture and utilize its world-class human resources and to strengthen global S&T co-operation

Korean STI policy needs to nurture andutilize its world-class human resourcesand to strengthen global S&T co-operation.

Lee Jang-Jae

Korea chapter [11] [P3]:Layout 1 19/10/10 08:19 Page 414

20 . Republic of KoreaLee Jang-Jae

415

INTRODUCTION

In the Republic of Korea, the present government considersscience and technology (S&T) to be the core element forachieving a number of national goals1. These goals includeacquiring the dual status of ‘advanced country’ and worldpower. The government also hopes that assigning a centralrole to S&T will help to ensure economic growth,strategically concentrate national resources on creative,original research, build a more equitable and progressivesociety, and promote prosperity in northeast Asia.

Although, in the past, economic growth in the Republic ofKorea relied on imitation, the country was able toassimilate advanced technologies and improve on theseby considerably increasing investment in research anddevelopment (R&D). Today, it aims to use innovation tocreate added value and to increase gross domesticexpenditure on R&D (GERD) to 5% of GDP by 2012. Thistarget has become one of the country’s top priorities.

The timetable for meeting this target has been contrariedby the global slowdown caused by the US subprimemortgage crisis, which plunged the Korean economy into asevere recession at the end of 2008. According to the Bankof Korea, GDP shrank by 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

However, thanks mainly to the government-led stimuluspackages to minimize the economic downturn, theKorean economy expanded by 0.2% in 2009, the third-highest growth rate among the 21 members of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD), which unveiled preliminary growthfigures in February 2010. The OECD expects the Koreaneconomy to grow by 4.4% in 2010, the highest growthrate among OECD countries (OECD, 2009). This is muchhigher than the OECD average of a 1.9% growth rate.

Despite the global economic recession, GERD in 2008amounted to 34 498.1 billion Korean won (KRW, about US$ 31.3 billion), an increase of 10.2% over the previous year.R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP was a healthy 3.37%,an increase of 0.16% over 2007, equivalent to US$ 644 percapita.

The Korean government has tried to raise R&Dexpenditure during the global economic recession, in order to stimulate national R&D and innovation. As a result, R&D investment in 2008 and 2009 by thegovernment and public sector increased by 13.5% and11.4% respectively over the previous year.

S&T POLICY INITIATIVES

In 2003, the Roh Moo-Hyun government established thePlanning Committee for a Science and Technology-orientedSociety and placed it within the Presidential AdvisoryCouncil on Science and Technology. The PlanningCommittee’s chairperson was the presidential secretary forS&T. It was she who drafted the Roadmap for Building aScience and Technology-oriented Society. The Ministry ofScience and Technology (MoST) set up its own PlanningCommittee for a Science and Technology-oriented Society.After many meetings and public hearings, this bodyprepared a proposal and drafted general plans, including adetailed methodology for building an S&T-oriented society.

As a result of these efforts, the Initiative for Establishing aNational Technology Innovation System, the government’spractical strategy for building an S&T-oriented society, wasimplemented in July 2004. Ministries identified five majorinnovation areas with 30 priority tasks on which to focus.This constituted the basic framework for Korea’s S&Tinnovation policy under the Roh government (2003–2008).

The Science and Technology Basic Plan for 2008–2013(known as the 577 Initiative2) of the new Lee Myung-Bakgovernment, which took office in February 2008, wasfinalized by the National Science and Technology Council(NSTC) in December 2008. This Plan consists of 50 prioritytasks for the next five years.

A few months earlier, in August 2008, President LeeMyung-Bak had declared a Low Carbon, Green Growthpolicy as a key national agenda. Both the Science andTechnology Basic Plan and the Low Carbon, Green Growthpolicy constitute the basic framework for the S&T policy ofthe Lee government.

Repub

lic of Korea

1. Much of this chapter is based on the White Paper on National Science andTechnology Policy from 2003 to 2007, published by the Korean Ministry ofScience and Technology in December 2007, and on the Science andTechnology Basic Plan of the Lee government, published in December 2008.‘Korean’ in the present chapter refers to the Republic of Korea.

2. ‘577’ is a reference to three key digits: total R&D investment will reach 5%of GDP by 2012; the Korean government will focus GERD on seven priorityS&T areas; and it will promote seven policy sectors, such as nurturinghuman resources in S&T, promoting basic research and so on.

Crowded street in Seoul

Photo: Getty Images

Korea chapter [1] [Ed2]:Layout 1 25/11/10 15:48 Page 415

UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT 2010

Main thrusts of national S&T policies from 2003 to 2012After the basic S&T policy frameworks of the newgovernments had been established, the Roh and Leeadministrations both prepared basic plans for theimplementation of these frameworks. Drafted in May 2003 and December 2008 respectively, these basicplans for S&T set goals for key S&T sectors with quantifiedtargets and input and output categories (Table 1).

As for the Low Carbon, Green Growth policy, it aims topromote the development of competitive green industries,while at the same time improving the quality of life by

416

reducing CO2 emissions and saving resources and energythrough ‘green’ technological innovation (KoreanNational Commission for UNESCO, 2009).

Main S&T policy focus and actionsGovernment action in the five main S&T policy areas from2003 onwards can be summarized as follows. Firstly, theRoh government elevated the Minister of Science andTechnology (MoST) to the level of Deputy Prime Ministerin 2004 and created the semi-autonomous Office ofScience and Technology Innovation within MoST tosupport the NSTC and the S&T Deputy Prime Minister. In order to pursue national policy initiatives through S&T

Table 1: R&D indicators for the Republic of Korea, 2001 and 2007, and targets for 2012

Category 2001 (attained) 2007 (attained) 2012 (target)

INVESTMENT GERD in KRW trillions 16.1 30.3 –in US$ billions 12.0 28.6 –as a percentage of GDP 2.6 3.2 5.0

Government in KRW trillions 4.3 35.3 66.5expenditure in US$ billions 3.2 26.6 –on R&D

Share of basic research 17.3 25.0+1 50.0** in government R&D budget (%)

Human Total number of researchers 178 937 – –resources

Number of researchers per 37.8 53.1 100.010 000 population

OUTPUT Patents Ratio of patents registered 63.0 74.0+1 –domestically by Koreans in comparison to foreigners (%)

Number of overseas patent 7942+1 25 000 10 000registrations*

Papers Number of articles published 14 673 33 000 35 000in Science Citation Index

Technology Ratio of technology revenue 0.07-1 0.33 0.7trading to expenditure (%)

STAGE OF NATIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION Entry stage of Growth stage of Becoming one creative technological creative technological of seven major innovation innovation powers in S&T

through creativetechnologicalinnovation

* The number of overseas patent registrations is based on Patent Cooperation Treaty registration.** including some applied research-n/+n = data refer to n years before or after reference year

Source: Government of Republic of Korea (2003) Science and Technology Basic Plan, 2003–2007; Government of Republic of Korea (2008) Science andTechnology Basic Plan, 2008–2012


Republic of Korea

417

policy, the S&T Deputy Prime Minister co-ordinatedindustrial, human resource and regional policies.

The S&T Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for overallco-ordination of science, technology and innovation (STI)policy, while serving as Vice-chair of the NSTC (KoreanNational Commission for UNESCO, 2009).

Secondly, the Roh government chose a knowledge-basedtechnology development strategy. This entailedincreasing R&D investment in basic research in order tostrengthen the capacity to create new, high value-addedknowledge industries. In the past, S&T policies had reliedon imitation and R&D strategies for independentdevelopment.

Thirdly, the Roh government advocated an S&T policyensuring both economic progress and a better quality of life, including by meeting social demands.

Fourthly, the Roh government took a more globalperspective on S&T than the domestically centered policythe government had adopted in the past. It sought toliberalize S&T policy and strengthen international co-operation, in particular with Northeast Asia, as well asreduce the gap among regions caused by a regional biasin the distribution of resources. The objective was not onlyto reinforce the global competitiveness of Koreanindustries and regions but also to increase domesticcohesion and solidarity.

Fifthly, the Roh government promoted private-sectorparticipation and appealed to society at large to developS&T. This approach was a departure from past practicewhen S&T policy and participation had centered onscientists and engineers. The government considered thedevelopment of S&T to be an economic, social andcultural reality in which all sectors of society shouldparticipate and which called for high standards in ethics,transparency and responsibility.

After the inauguration of President Lee Myung-Bak inFebruary 2008, the new government set aboutreorganizing the system of S&T administration andprepared the 577 Initiative. The main S&T policy areas ofthe Lee government can be summarized as follows:

Firstly, the Lee administration plans to increase R&Dinvestment to 5% of GDP by 2012. It will commit a total of

KRW 66.5 trillion (equivalent to about US$55.4 billion)over a five-year period (2008–2012). Also, tax incentivesfor investment in R&D will be provided to foster privateexpenditure on R&D, corporate research institutes will bederegulated and the tax deduction rate of 7–10% will beextended to a greater number of beneficiaries to facilitateinvestment in R&D, among other measures.

Secondly, the Lee government will invest in strategic areasfor national R&D, such as basic research, emerging areas ofindustrial technology and technology related to globalissues. Korea will also become a leading nation in the‘green market’, which will be worth KRW 3 000 trillion(equivalent to about US$ 2.5 trillion) by 2020, by morethan doubling R&D investment in green technologies.

Thirdly, the Lee administration’s STI policy emphasizesnurturing scientists and engineers who are capable ofconducting world-class research, along with a strategicconcentration of R&D resources on creative, originalresearch. In this context, the government plans to doublethe share of basic research in total governmentexpenditure on R&D, while stepping up its efforts toproduce creative talents by integrating education withS&T (Government of Republic of Korea, 2008).

Promoting innovationFrom 2003 to 2009, more than 40 laws and ordinancesrelating to S&T innovation were enacted. These involvedeveloping human resources; ensuring a safe researchenvironment; and establishing a system to promoteinnovation and support technological innovation as abasis for building an S&T-oriented society and becomingone of the seven major S&T powers in the world by 2012. Key laws passed or amended during this period includethe Law on Government Organizational Structure, theBasic Laws on Science and Technology and the Basic Lawson Human Resources Development.

The government has also implemented policies to createa favourable environment for technological innovation inorder to attract the best brains to science and engineeringand promote the development of new technologies (Box 1). For instance, it introduced a system encouragingpublic institutions to employ scientists and engineers. As a result, the number of new recruits in public service atLevel 5 (director level) holding degrees in science andengineering has increased from 158 (23.5%) in 2002 to 185 (34.7%) in 2006.

Repub

lic of Korea



Furthermore, the Lee government has introduced plans toimprove R&D performance in specific areas, including bio-engineering, the national satellite navigation system, theintegrated establishment of broadband and thedevelopment of national nuclear fusion technology.

Administrative reorganizationIn order to reinforce overall responsibility and co-ordinationof S&T innovation policies and relevant micro-economicpolicies, the consecutive Roh and Lee governments haveproceeded with a series of administrative and organizationalchanges. We have already seen that the Science andTechnology Minister was promoted to Deputy PrimeMinister in 2004 and that the Minister also holds the post ofVice-Chair of the NSTC.

In order to ensure the planning and co-ordination of S&Tpolicies, the Roh government introduced ministry-wide R&Dprogrammes and established the ephemeral Office of Science and Technology Innovation (OSTI) within MoST. It consisted of specialists from the private sector (20%) andcivil servants from both relevant ministries (40%) and fromMoST (40%). OSTI was responsible for addressing specializedS&T issues and for ensuring fairness and neutrality in theformulation and implementation of S&T innovation policyuntil it was abolished by the incoming Lee government.

In addition, the Law on the Presidential Advisory Council onScience and Technology (enacted in 1991) was amended toreinforce the council’s status in 2004. A Presidential Advisorfor Information and Science and Technology was appointedto assist the president in managing an enlarged council. Thelaw was subsequently revised in 2008 and renamed the Lawon the Presidential Advisory Council on Education, Scienceand Technology.

Since the advent of the Lee government in February 2008,not only has OSTI been abolished but MoST and the Ministryof Education have also been merged to form the Ministry ofEducation, Science and Technology (MEST)3, while theMinistry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Ministryof Communication have been merged to create the Ministryof the Knowledge Economy (MKE). This consolidation hasbeen initiated by the new Korean President within an overalldrive to reduce the size of government and cut the numberof ministries in the executive branch (OECD, 2009).

418

S&T innovation policy integration, co-ordination,evaluation and managementBy introducing various administrative and organizationalchanges to promote innovation, both the Roh and Leegovernments have reinforced the co-ordination, evaluationand management function of S&T policy. This includesgiving authority to the NSTC to co-ordinate and evaluatenational R&D programmes. Up until 2008, it was alsoresponsible for distributing the budget for national R&Dprogrammes. Since 2008, NSTC has been responsible forsetting national R&D priorities, co-ordinating national R&Dprogrammes and so on. Responsibility for evaluatingnational R&D programmes and distributing their resourcebudget has fallen to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.Also, a Special Committee on National Defence R&D was setup in 2007 to discuss and co-ordinate S&T policy-relatedissues, including the allocation of the national defence R&Dbudget among the relevant ministries (Figure 1).

Greater co-ordination of current S&T policy can be seen inthe growing number of joint agendas submitted by morethan two ministries; these now exceed 40% of all submittedagendas. For instance, various ministries are collaboratingon the new drug development programme (MEST, MKE andMinistry of Welfare) and on the agriculture and forestry R&Dprogramme (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, RuralDevelopment Administration and the Forest Service).

Greater support for government-funded researchinstitutions The government is also promoting R&D activities ofgovernment-funded research institutes, which are keyperformers of national R&D. The Roh government enactedthe Law on the Establishment, Management andDevelopment of Government-funded Research Institutions inthe Areas of Science and Technology (2004) and transferredauthority over research institutions to the NSTC to developcloser ties between STI policy and R&D activities. However,starting with the Lee administration, the government-fundedResearch Institute was reorganized within the government’sadministrative reform in 2008 and authority over researchinstitutions was transferred to MEST and MKE.4

Furthermore, the Lee government has introduced measuresto promote specialized research programmes and

3. MEST continues to assume the role of NSTC Secretariat.

4. There are now two research councils, the Research Council of BasicScience and Technology under MEST and the Research Council of IndustrialScience and Technology under MKE.


Republic of Korea

419

established a mid-term strategy to ensure that R&Dresources and the capabilities of government-fundedresearch institutions are utilized efficiently.

A performance-based evaluation and managementsystem for R&DIn 2005, the government enacted the Law on theEvaluation and Management of the Performance ofNational R&D Programmes to enhance the efficiency ofthese programmes. A year later, it implemented the BasicPlan for Performance Evaluation (2006–2010), leading tothe establishment of a performance-based evaluation andmanagement system. Three years earlier, the Ministry ofInformation and Communication – now part of MKE – hadimplemented the Project Manager System to deal withspecialization issues in R&D management, such asimproving efficiency in R&D using the Six Sigma5 method.The same year, it had established the National Science andTechnology Information System (2007–2009) for theintegrated management of S&T information.

R&D INPUT

Greater government investment in R&DGovernment investment in R&D has increased steadilysince 1993. In addition, diverse policies were pursuedfrom 2003 to 2009 to enhance the efficiency of R&Dinvestment. Over this period, the government share of the annual budget dedicated to R&D reached a total of KRW 42.4 trillion (US$ 31.9 billion), or some KRW 10 trillion (US$ 7.5 billion). From 2005 to 2009, total government investment in R&D increased by 12.2 %,a considerably higher rate than the increase in totalgovernment expenditure of about 8.0%.

Repub

lic of Korea

5. Originally developed by Motorola (USA) in the early 1980s formanufacturing, this method of quality management has since beenextended to other business processes. It relies on analysis, statisticalmethods and other means to achieve targets such as improved productquality, better safety, greater profits or a faster delivery time.

Figure 1: GERD in the Republic of Korea by socio-economic objective, 2008

0

5

10

15

20

25

Exp

lora

tio

n a

nd

exp

loit

ati

on

of

the

Ea

rth

En

vir

on

me

nt

Exp

lora

tio

n a

nd

exp

loit

ati

on

of

spa

ce

Tra

nsp

ort

, te

leco

mm

un

ica

tio

n a

nd

oth

er

infr

ast

ruct

ure

En

erg

y

He

alt

h

Ag

ricu

ltu

re

Cu

ltu

re, r

ecr

eat

ion

, r

elig

ion

an

d m

ass

me

dia

Ed

uca

tio

n

Po

litic

al a

nd

so

cia

l sys

tem

s, s

tru

ctu

res

an

d p

roce

sse

s

R&

D fi

na

nce

d f

rom

Ge

ne

ral U

niv

ers

ity

Fun

ds

R&

D fi

na

nce

d f

rom

oth

er

sou

rce

s th

an

GU

F

De

fen

ce

Ind

ust

ria

l pro

du

ctio

n a

nd

te

chn

olo

gy

186 289872 801

362 230

1 742 152 1 655 907 1 328 175 921 098389 828 220 788 389 828 293 233 389 828

1 021 124

24 728 205KRW millions

Source: MEST/KISTEP (2009) Survey of Research and Development in Korea



Furthermore, the government diversified financialresources for investment in R&D by issuing GovernmentScience and Technology Bonds (2006) and by establishingthe Daedeok Special Zone Fund, the TechnologyCommercial ization Fund administered by MKE and theSmall and Medium-Sized Enterprises Fund administeredby the Small and Medium-Sized Business Administration.The government also incited the private sector to investmore in R&D via tax incentives and reductions, as we haveseen earlier. As a result, private sector investment grew atan annual average rate of 12.3% from 2003 to 2008. GERDconsequently increased rapidly from KRW 17.3 trillion in2002 (2.53% of GDP) to KRW 34.5 trillion in 2008 (3.37% of GDP) [Table 2 and Figures 2 and 3].

Increasing the efficiency of R&D investmentAs investment in R&D grew, new policies wereimplemented to ensure that this investment would beused efficiently. Changes included a medium and long-term investment portfolio for the efficient use of limited R&D resources and a Total Roadmap for National R&DProgrammes. These were presented in 2006. A year later,preliminary feasibility studies were introduced for large-scale R&D programmes requiring a budget of more thanKRW 50 billion (US$ 37.6 million). In addition, thegovernment implemented a comprehensive plan for thepromotion of basic research (2005) and increasedinvestment in basic and fusion research with the aim ofdeveloping independent fundamental technologies andintellectual property. The public R&D budget share for

420

basic research increased from 19.0% in 2002 to 23.1% in 2006 and an estimated 29.3 % in 2009. At the same time, the government boosted support for small-scale basic research projects, from KRW 263.2 billion (US$ 198 million) in 2004 to KRW 380.4 billion (US$ 286.5 million) in 2008.

Incentives for the private sector to innovateIn 2006, the government amended the Law for theTransfer of Technology and secured adequate funding forcorporate R&D, in order to encourage innovation.Corporations conduct about three-quarters of R&D in theRepublic of Korea, linking technology valuation withfinancing. At the same time, the government provided taxincentives to spur corporate R&D and innovation. Theseincentives include more time to apply for tax deductionson R&D, human resources development and investment ininstallations (from the end of 2006 to the end of 2009), an increase in tax deductions from 40% to 50% onoutsourced research costs for large corporations andincome and corporate tax reductions for researchenterprises and cutting-edge technology companies inDaedeok Innopolis.6 As a result of these measures, thenumber of innovation enterprises increased substantially

Table 2: Trends in GERD in the Republic of Korea, 2003–2008

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Government in KRW trillions 6.5 7.1 7.8 8.9 9.8 11.1investment in US$ billions 4.9 5.3 5.9 6.7 7.4 8.3in R&D as a share of the total 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.6 4.9

government budget (%)

Total in KRW trillions 19.1 22.2 24.2 27.3 31.3 34.5investment in US$ billions 14.3 16.7 18.2 20.5 23.5 25.9in R&D as a share of GDP (%) 2.5 2.7 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4*

* provisional

Note. Government investment in R&D includes the R&D-related government budget (general accounting plus special accounting).

Source: PACST/KISTEP (2007) Analysis of the Performance of Science and Technology Policy of the Government from 2003 to 2007; MEST/KISTEP (2009) Survey of

Research and Development in Korea

6. Daedeok Innopolis is located near Daejeon. It has been designed to linkresearchers and developers with capital so that they can run businesses ortake a share in a business. The main role of the organization is to translatethe results of R&D into business profits.


Republic of Korea

421

Repub

lic of Korea

Figure 2: Trends in R&D investment in the Republic of Korea, 1994–2008

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Total R&D budget

Private-sector financed research budget

Government-financed research budget

KRW trillions

1 330

9 249

6 011

25 142

7 895

34 498

Source: MEST/ KISTEP (2009) Survey of Research and Development in Korea

3.603.46 3.44

2.68

3.37

2.54

2.08

1.79

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

1.49

Swe

de

n

Fin

lan

d

Jap

an

Re

p. K

ore

a

US

A

Ge

rman

y

Fran

ce UK

Ch

ina

%


Figure 3: International comparison of R&D intensity inthe Republic of Korea, 2008Other countries are given for comparison

from 2002 to 2006: from 9 705 to 12 218 for subsidiaryresearch centres of companies; from 1 856 to 7 183 for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises;and from 8 778 to 12 218 for venture companies.

A greater effort to develop human resourcesFrom 2003 to 2009, the government formulated andimplemented major policies to support the developmentof basic science and human resources. The government iswell aware that creativity is the foundation of innovationand will be essential if the country’s efforts to developendogenous innovation capabilities in the midst of globalcompetition are to succeed. These policies include theStrategy to Develop Human Resources in Science andTechnology, the Medium and Long-term Supply andDemand Forecast for Human Resources in Science andTechnology (2006–2010), the second Brain Korea 21project (Box 2) and the Measures to Increase the Numberof Civil Servants Specialized in Science and Engineering.Over the same period, the government introduced anumber of programmes and raised the budget in all areasof S&T human resource development, includingprogrammes for both young people and retired scientistsand engineers (Table 4).



As a result of these efforts, the human resource base forresearch expanded during 2003–2008. The total number of researchers grew to 300 050 by the end of 2008, which is equivalent to 97 researchers for every 10 000 Koreans. Furthermore, in order to encourageresearch productivity, the remuneration system forresearchers has improved, including an increase inremuneration to 50% of revenue generated fromtechnology fees. A policy has also been introduced to raiseKRW 200 billion (US$ 150 million) for the Korean Scientistsand Engineers Mutual Aid Association by 2012. Anotherpolicy shortens the compulsory period of employment forspecialized research staff – who are already exempted frommilitary service – from four to three years, in order topromote a more stable and research-friendly environment.

Ensuring a better quality of life through S&TFrom 2003 to 2009, the government also implementedR&D policies to promote a better quality of life, in adeparture from the previous growth-oriented policies. It identified 22 priority areas and introduced policydocuments entitled Means of Technology-basedEnhancement of the Quality of Life for the Realization of

422

Vision 2030 (NSTC, 2007a) and Comprehensive Means ofTechnology-based Improvement of the Quality of Life(NSTC, 2007b). In addition, Plans for the Pursuit ofTransforming Transdepartmental R&D into Wonder Drugs were adopted for a healthier life through thedevelopment of biotechnology and medical technology.In parallel, investment in these areas was expanded.

In order to improve health care and medical services, thegovernment introduced the Law on the Development ofOriental Medicine and the Law on Cancer Management in2003 and established the Korea Centre for Disease Controland Prevention. As implementation of all these policiesand initiatives requires substantial funding, thegovernment increased investment in areas related totechnology-based life improvement to KRW 385.3 billion(US$ 290 million) in 2007, a 3.5 increase over 2003.

At the same time, different ministries began a concertedeffort to tackle other societal issues. These measuresincluded the enactment of the Basic Law on Low BirthRates and an Ageing Society (2005). In addition, the government introduced measures to ensure safety

From 2003 to 2007, the governmentdeveloped and supported 10 majornext-generation growth engineprogrammes in S&T to prepare thenational economy for the future. This research has resulted in a total of 136 achievements, including:

■ The first wireless broadband(WiBro) technology in the world.WiBro was developed by theKorean telecommunicationsindustry;

■ An active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) forlarge televisions;

■ A digital multimedia broadcasting(DMB) transmission and receptionsystem. DMB is a digital radiotransmission technologydeveloped by Korea as part of the national IT project to send

from US$ 2.9 billion in 2002 to US$ 34.7 billion in 2006. This said,the trading deficit with Japan incomponents and materials widenedover the same period fromUS$ 1.8 billion to US$ 15.6 billion.However, the ratio of technologytrade revenue to expenditure isimproving. It rose from 0.23 % in 2002to 0.42% in 2007, thanks to growth intechnology exports. According to areport by the Ministry of Commerce,Industry and Energy (MoCIE), nowMKE, Korea was 9th in the world forthe export volume of cutting-edgetechnological products in 2003 buthad climbed to 7th position by 2006.Korea is also making a greater numberof the world’s best-quality productsthan before, up from 122 in 2002 to308 in 2006, according to MoCIE.

Source: MoCIE, January 2010

multimedia, such as television,radio and datacasting, to mobiledevices like mobile phones;

■ 521M PRAM (Parameter RAM).

The government also launched large-scale national R&D programmes tosupport the commercialization ofmajor research results, such as themagnetic levitation train, a treatmentfor encephalopathic dementia anddigital actor and large-sized wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) craft.

In addition, the advancement ofexisting key industries has producedvisible results. For example, thanks tosupport for the components andmaterials industry, including theestablishment of the Korea Materialsand Components Industry Agency in2005, profits from international tradein this sector have skyrocketed:

Box 1: Preparing for the future with innovation


Republic of Korea

423

Repub

lic of Korea

Box 2: Brain Korea 21

The first Brain Korea 21 project gotunder way in 1999. The aim was toprepare higher education for therealities of the 21st century. Thegovernment invested KRW 1.4 trillion(about US$ 1.2 billion) over sevenyears to develop world-classresearch universities and graduateschools. About three-quarters of thisamount was earmarked fordeveloping graduate schools innatural and applied sciences and insocial and human sciences.

has shifted the government focusfrom undergraduate to graduateeducation. Whereas some criticizethis move for abandoning theprinciple of equal opportunity, otherspraise it for the focus on nurturingworld-class research and forencouraging students to pursuegraduate education.

The project is due to wind up in2012.

Source: http://bnc.krf.or.kr/home/

eng/bk21/aboutbk21.jsp

The second Brain Korea 21 projecttook over in 2006 and has pursuedthe goals of its predecessor with abudget of KRW 2.1 trillion (about US$ 1.8 billion) over seven years. In order to qualify for the pro -gramme and thereby receivegovernment funding, universitiesare obliged to organize them -selves into research consortiamade up of university staff and tocollaborate on specific projects.Extremely ambitious, the project

Table 3: Key achievements of Korean policy for S&T human resources, 2002–2008

Categories Key policy Key achievements (2002–2008)

Youth ■ Establishment of specific ■ Creation of school for gifted students inprogrammes for educating science (2003)talented students in science, etc ■ Increase in the number of educational

institutions for gifted students in science:15 (2002) to 25 (2007)

Undergraduate and ■ Pursue the New University for ■ Recipients (students) of governmentgraduate students in Regional Innovation and Brain scholarships: 5 872 (2003) to 20 000 (2008)science and engineering Korea 21 (2nd stage) projects ■ Increase in labour costs : PhD course,

■ Targets for employment of KRW 1.2 million to KRW 2 million science and engineering majors (US$ 900 to US$ 1 500)by public institutions ■ Increase in research staff with exemption from

■ More scholarships military service: 1 674 (2003) to 2 500 (2008)

Female scientists ■ Systematic encouragement ■ Increase in number of support centres for femaleand engineers and support for female scientists and engineers: 0 (2004) to 5 (2008)

scientists and engineers ■ Increase in percentage of females amongworking researchers: 18.2% (2003) to 24.6% (2007)

Retired engineers ■ Re-employment policy ■ Introduction of the techno-doctor programme, a rehiring programme for retired engineers:KRW 3.4 billion (2008)

■ Support ReSEAT programme: in-depth analysisof S&T information using retirees:KRW 2.5 billion (2008)

Source: KISTEP (2007); Analysis of PACST performance of Science and Technology policy of the Government from 2003 to 2007; NSTC (2008) Science and

Technology Basic Plan of the Lee Myung-Bak Government (2008–2012)


http://bnc.krf.or.kr/home/eng/bk21/aboutbk21.jsp


from atomic power and radioactive waste materials. For example, in 2005, the location of a radioactive wastetreatment plant was chosen with the consent of the localcommunity. The Atomic Energy Act (2005) was alsoamended to include a nuclear power plant safetyexamination system. Furthermore, the government set upa National Emergency Management Agency (2007) andSocial Safety Network Research Institute (2006) to copewith disasters comprehensively .

The government has also strived to ensure safety andreliability in the construction and transportation sectors,as demonstrated by the development of the Korean tiltingtrain (2001–2007) and bullet train (2002–2007). Thegovernment has also engaged in a variety of activities tosecure eco-friendly resources, such as drilling for gashydrates in 2007 in the East Sea, the fifth successfulattempt in the world. It is also participating in a projectwithin the International Partnership for the HydrogenEconomy7 and developing core environmentaltechnologies.

Under the new government, NSTC recommended toPresident Lee in January 2009 that investment in publicwelfare be expanded to cope with social and global issuessuch as food safety, climate change, mad cow disease, avianinfluenza and so on.

Measures for ensuring more balanced regionaldevelopmentPast policies designed to achieve rapid economic growthhave led to imbalanced regional development andwidened gaps between sectors. The government is nowassertively pursuing regional STI policies that areexpected to help correct these inequalities and ensurebalanced and sustainable regional development for thefuture. These policies include the first five-year Plan forBalanced Regional Development of the Nation (2004) andthe third five-year Plan for Promotion of Regional Scienceand Technology (2007) covering the period 2008–2012.

A noticeable effect of this shift towards S&T policy forregional development has been a substantial increase ininvestment in regional R&D. The share of the government

424

budget for R&D (general accounting plus specialaccounting) allocated to regions – excluding the SeoulMetropolitan Area and the City of Daejeon – increasedfrom 27% in 2003 to 40% in 2008. Local governmentshave also recognized the importance of S&T for thedevelopment of their regions and carried investment inthis sector from 0.93% of their budget in 2002 to 2.3% in 2006.

This surge in funding of regional R&D has led to an increase in regional innovation. The number oftechnoparks, which totalled only eight in 2002, haddoubled to 16 by 2006. In addition, the Special Law onDaedeok R&D Special Zone was enacted in July 2005 to spur regional innovation. This law established acomprehensive plan for the development of special R&D zones in November 2005 and promoted the Daedeok region as the site for research, development andcommercialization of new innovative products. As a result,Daedok Innopolis has attracted foreign investment of US$ 13 million and 28 companies with an annual turnoverof more than KRW 10 billion (US$ 7 million). It has become an important site for technology transfer (600 cases as of March 2010) and for bringing innovationto the marketplace (21 new innovative products).

More foreign R&D centres and stronger internationalco–operation in S&TWhile pursuing balanced regional development at home,the government is also aiming to broaden the scope ofS&T policy and to strengthen national competitiveness inthe global economy. As part of this strategy, thegovernment is attempting to attract overseas researchcentres to the country. To this end, it implemented theMethod of Consolidating Laws Related to AttractingOverseas R&D Centres in March 2006. As a result, 51 foreign R&D centres had been established on Koreansoil by the end of June 2007.

Moreover, the Republic of Korea is now playing a greaterrole in international S&T co-operation and participating invarious international projects to tackle global issues. These projects include the International ThermonuclearExperimental Reactor (see page 158), the European Union’sGalileo satellite navigation system and the GlobalResearch Laboratory (Box 3). The Republic of Korea is alsoseeking to participate in the EU’s Seventh FrameworkProgramme for Research and Technological Development(FP7).

7. This partnership also involves Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EuropeanCommission, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand,Norway, Russian Federation, the UK and USA: www.iphe.net


http://www.iphe.net

Republic of Korea

425

Repub

lic of Korea

The government is promoting the participation ofcompanies in the EU Framework Programme andsupporting public R&D funding (about KRW 20 million percompany annually) for these companies. In 2009, thegovernment was planning to spend a total of KRW 2.6 billion to support companies’ participation in FP7.

Encouraging people to participate in S&TdevelopmentFostering an ethical approach to researchFor the government, social responsibility and ethicalawareness are important issues for scientists and engineers.It has introduced the Scientist and Engineer’s Charter (2004)and the Scientist and Engineer’s Code of Ethics (2007).Furthermore, it has reinforced internal monitoring of howresearch funds are being used, set up the Cyber ReportCentre for Execution of the Research Budget (2005) andintroduced the Research Budget Management CertificationSystem (2005) to foster greater transparency in theallocation and utilization of research budgets.

By October 2007, a total of 113 research organizations hadimplemented the government’s Guidelines for SecuringResearch Ethics and supported the establishment of a self-examination system for verifying the truthfulness of research.

Moreover, the government is analysing the effect of newtechnologies on society, culture, ethics and theenvironment. In order to be able to deal with these effectsappropriately, it was conducting an Evaluation ofTechnological Influence resulting from the development ofnew technologies in 2010. These new technologies includenanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology(IT), convergence technologies and ubiquitous computingtechnologies that have substantial social ripple effects.

Developing an S&T cultureIn building a society based on principle and trust, it is important to ensure that practices are ethical. This holds true for the S&T sector as well. That is why the government is attempting to increase people’sunderstanding of, and support for, S&T and to promotepopular participation in their development.

In 2003, the government implemented a five-year plan tobring S&T and culture closer together. It launched theScience Korea initiative in 2004 to build a nationalconsensus on how S&T should develop and to integratescience into daily life. This includes stimulating interest in science and engineering among young people andpopularizing scientific topics.

Box 3: The Global Research Laboratory

The Global Research Laboratoryprogramme was launched by the KoreaFoundation for InternationalCooperation in Science and Technology(KICOS) in 2006. It develops original coretechnologies to solve global problemsthrough international collaborativeresearch between Korean and foreignlaboratories. One advantage of theprogramme is that it makes it possibleto share research results from large-scale projects and pool resources,thereby reducing the cost of research.

In 2007, a total of 16 areas werebeing supported:■ Stem cell applications; ■ Early diagnosis of cancer; ■ Environmental conservation and

restoration;

The Global Research Laboratoryprogramme is supported by MEST and managed by the NationalResearch Foundation of Korea. AnyKorean research centre, laboratory,research group, organization orinstitution may apply for the programme,in line with Article 7 of the TechnologyDevelopment Promotion Law. Projectproposals must be presented jointly bythe Korean and foreign researchlaboratory to a review committee thatincludes foreign members.

Source: MEST

for details: [email protected]

or [email protected]

■ Gene therapy; ■ Nano-based materials; ■ IT nanodevices; ■ Bio-information application

technology; ■ Environmentally friendly nano-

materials; ■ Nano-level materials processing; ■ New and renewable energy; ■ Prevention of, and response to,

natural disasters; ■ Bio-immune protection and

infectious diseases control; ■ Nano-bio materials; ■ Next-generation display technology; ■ Biochip Sensor technology; ■ Climate change projection and

responsive technologies forenvironmental change.


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


The government is relying on the media and other meansto build an S&T culture. For example, it provides scienceprogrammes like Science Café, broadcast by KBS, Korea’spremier public broadcaster and the biggest Koreantelevision network with an audience rating of more than7%. Another science programme is Science TV, which wasbroadcast throughout the country in September 2007. A third example is Brain Power Plant Q, a programme aired by the Munhwa BroadcastingCorporation, one of the four major national Koreantelevision and radio networks. On the Internet, thegovernment has posted Science All, a scientific literaryportal, since 2005 and has been publishing the sciencenews bulletin Science Times regularly since 2003.

In addition, the government disseminates information onS&T policy through its Science and Technology InnovationNewsletter and provides an opportunity to share scientificknowledge through the weekly science lecture programmeScience Touch. Research achievements are also disseminatedthrough exhibitions like that on research performance andfuture economic growth. Other initiatives include theScience for Leaders and the Science and TechnologyAmbassador programmes to increase awareness amongleaders from various sectors of society of the importance ofS&T and to stimulate their interest. As a result of these efforts,the level of interest among Koreans in new scientificdiscoveries has improved considerably (Figure 4).

POSITIVE TRENDS AND OUTCOMES

Rapid growth in private sector investment in S&TOne of the government’s major achievements during2003–2008 was the introduction of measures establishinga firm foundation for the enhancement of R&D andeconomic performance to drive future growth.

The government increased the share of the budget itallocated to R&D and encouraged the private sector to dolikewise. From 2003 to 2008, the combined R&D budget ofthe government and private sector increased at anaverage annual rate of 12.6 %. Private sector investmentalone grew by 12.3% during this period, a rate which farexceeds that of some very advanced countries: USA, Japanand Germany could all boast of growth of around 5%. Inaddition, the Korean GERD/GDP ratio, or R&D intensity,climbed from 2.63% in 2003 to 3.37% in 2008, placing thecountry fourth among OECD members for this indicator.

426

Greater support for basic research and innovation With greater R&D investment has come greater supportfor basic research, creating a better basis for independentinnovation. Government investment in basic researchincreased from 19.5% of the budget in 2003 to 23.1% in2006 then to 25.6% in 2008. In monetary terms, however,the budget for basic research almost doubled in five years,from KRW 2.76 trillion (US$ 2.1 billion) in 2003 to KRW 5.54 trillion (US$ 4.2 billion) in 2008, reflecting thedetermination of the government and private sector todevelop basic research (Figure 5).

Greater R&D investment by small and medium-sizedventure enterprisesDuring 2003–2009, the government continued topromote balanced growth for both large corporations andsmall and medium-sized venture enterprises, togetherwith encouraging innovation in the private sector. Thisdiffers from past administrations which had tended toconcentrate more on large corporations. As a result,investment in R&D by small and medium-sized ventureenterprises has started to grow again after contracting in2000 due to the collapse of the IT venture bubble (Figure 6). The manufacturing industry is also showinghealthy growth: the ratio of R&D investment to sales hasgrown from 2.19% in 2002 to 2.76% in 2008 (Table 4).

Figure 4: Level of interest in S&T among Koreans2006 (%)Other countries and regions are given for comparison

Level of interest in new scientific discoveries (%)

Level of understanding of new scientific discoveries (%)

43.5

24.6

51.2

25.4

69.0

42.0

54.0

35.5

Rep. Korea

2002

Rep. Korea

2006

USA

2001

EU

2005

Source: Korea Foundation for Advancement of Science and Culture

(2006) Survey on level of understanding of people on science and

technology


Republic of Korea

427

Repub

lic of Korea

Figure 6: R&D budget of Korean small and medium-sized venture enterprises, 2003–2006

34 254

2003

35 557

2004

39 214

2005

51 051

2006

23.6

20.9 21.1

24.2

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

R&D budget of small & medium-sized venture enterprisesProportion

%KRW 100 millions

Source: MoST (2007) White Paper on National Science and Technology

Policy from 2003 to 2007

Figure 5: GERD in the Republic of Korea by type of research, 1994–2008

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

KRW billions

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000 Total R&D budget

Development research budget

Applied research budget

Basic research budget

34 498

1 132

5 5371 881

6 774

4 882

22 187

7 895


A steep climb in the number of researchersBesides greater investment in R&D, another major trendin S&T has been the significant increase in the number of researchers. Their ranks grew at an annual average rateof 8.7% from 2003 to 2008. As a result, there are now 300 050 researchers, placing the Republic of Korea fifthworldwide. As for the number of researchers in relation to population size, there were 97 full-time equivalent(FTE) researchers per 10 000 population in 2008,compared to 66 in 2003. The number of FTE researchersrelative to active researchers also increased substantiallyover the same period. However, the Republic of Korea stilltrails the USA, China, Japan and Germany in terms ofoverall numbers (Figure 7).

A stronger patent performance and productivityThe number of registered patents is a key indicator ofinnovation. From 2003 to 2007, the volume of Koreanpatents increased substantially, largely due to greater andmore effective investment in R&D over this period andgovernment efforts to stimulate innovation. The numberof patents registered by Koreans in the USA increased by99.4% from 3 786 in 2003 to 7 549 in 2008 – ranking theRepublic of Korea fourth worldwide for this indicator.



428

Table 4: R&D expenditure and industrial sales in the Republic of Korea, 2007 and 2008

Industry 2007 2008

Expenditure R&D/sales ratio Expenditure R&D/sales ratio(%) (%)

Use Invest Use Invest Use Invest Use Invest

All industries 23 864 893 25 132 297 2.43 2.56 26 000 069 27 341 718 2.13 2.24

Agriculture 11 874 11 666 9.05 8.89 21 955 21 563 2.78 2.73

Manufacturing 21 338 862 22 341 528 2.97 3.11 22 996 967 24 132 473 2.63 2.76

Beverages, food & tobacco 331 074 329 858 0.76 0.76 348 237 348 637 0.97 0.97

Textiles, clothing & leather 146 452 137 231 0.86 0.81 152 587 140 834 0.72 0.67

Chemicals & chemical products(excluding medical products) 1 277 484 1 236 842 1.72 1.67 1 302 447 1 240 279 1.56 1.48

Medicines & pharmaceuticals 596 779 589 838 5.85 5.78 634 493 668 492 5.24 5.52

Rubber & plastic 374 116 354 114 2.56 2.42 435 301 407 465 2.34 2.19

Non-metal products 141 864 139 864 1.20 1.18 143 713 143 401 1.04 1.03

Metal industry 415 824 483 822 0.63 0.74 511 686 635 367 0.58 0.72

Metal processing products(excluding machine & furniture) 171 614 149 564 1.92 1.68 233 781 224 243 2.04 1.96

Electronic components, computer Radio, TV & communicationEquipment & apparatus __– – – – 12 080 709 12 957 217 6.36 6.82

Semiconductors 6 407 130 6 340 185 7.80 7.72 7 478 411 8 360 027 8.14 9.10

Electronic components 1 216 549 1 118 251 3.17 2.91 1 369 978 1 335 408 3.22 3.14

Computers and peripherals 276 463 266 565 4.94 4.76 195 095 197 327 3.76 3.80

Communications &

broadcasting equipment 2 610 091 2 497 438 6.99 6.69 2 742 083 2 764 020 6.32 6.37

Video & audio equipment 276 104 265 913 4.88 4.70 273 454 278 758 4.51 4.60

Medical, precision & optical

Machinery and watches 369 089 314 984 7.50 6.40 688 545 550 908 7.29 5.83

Electrical devices – – – – 681 879 645 470 2.49 2.36

Other machines and equip. – – – – 1 568 276 1 440 400 3.15 2.90

Cars & trailers 3 831 826 4 372 820 3.42 3.90 3 442 680 3 967 551 2.83 3.26

Other transporting machines 493 754 486 923 1.07 1.06 545 341 520 445 0.89 0.85

Furniture 29 680 30 816 1.02 1.06 17 068 18 185 1.03 1.09

Other products 25 962 25 573 2.35 2.31 50 197 50 520 3.26 3.28

Electricity, gas & water services 241 486 224 062 0.45 0.42 258 755 143 991 0.39 0.21

Sewerage processing & recycling,

Environmental remediation – – – – 22 703 19 130 2.53 2.13

Construction 544 369 853 259 0.49 0.77 644 940 951 250 0.50 0.74

Services sector 1 721 747 1 694 695 1.74 1.71 2 048 632 2 066 535 1.39 1.40

Transportation 55 791 42 962 0.27 0.35 55 081 65.100 0.32 0.38

Publications, video, broadcasting & information – – – – 1 292 208 1 328 318 2.00 2.06

Telecommunications 325 722 356 317 0.83 0.90 378 911 439 531 0.92 1.06

Expertise via S&T services – – – – 522 027 494 259 3.84 3.64

Note. The total amount of sub-categorized items is not consistent with the higher categorized items because this table only shows the result of analysis of major industries. As for some industries, data are not available for comparison with the previous year due to the revision of the KSIC-9, the Republic ofKorea’s industrial classification code



Republic of Korea

429

As for domestic patents, their number grew from 45 298 in 2002 to 123 705 in 2007 (Figure 8). Thesepositive trends in patent performance suggest thatincreases in R&D investment from 2003 onwards startedproducing results as early as 2005.

Moreover, the number of Korean patents belonging to theTriadic patent families, which are registered in the patentoffices of the USA, Japan and EU, grew approximatively bya factor of 2.3 from 2002 to 2005, increasing from 1 383 to3 158 respectively. Also, the number of Triadic patent family

patents per KRW 1 billion of research budget fundingincreased from 0.08 in 2002 to 0.13 in 2005 (Figure 9).

A healthier technology trade balanceDuring 2003–2007, technology trade volumes increasedmarkedly. This suggests that innovation has become moreintensive in the Republic of Korea in recent years andtechnology trade with other countries more active. Thetechnology trade volume amounted to US$ 4.05 billion in2003 and by 2007 had almost doubled (growing by 80%) toUS$ 7.28 billion (Figure 10).

Repub

lic of Korea

Figure 7: Number of FTE researchers in the Republic of Korea, 2008Other countries are given for comparison

Sweden FinlandJapan Rep. KoreaUSA Germany France UKChina

Researchers (full-time equivalent)

Researchers per 1 000 economically active population

9.4

1 425 550

1.8

1 423 381

10.6

709 9746.8

284 305

9.7

236 137

7.7

211 129

5.7

175 476

9.9

47 762

14.5

39 000


Figure 8: Trends in patent registrations for the Republic of Korea, 1994–2007

11 683 12 51216 516

0

30 000

60 000

90 000

120 000

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

24 579

52 890

62 635

34 956 34 675

45 298 44 165

49 068

73 512

120 790 123 705




In addition, the ratio of technology trade revenue toexpenditure, calculated as the ratio of technology exportsto technology imports, increased from 0.25% in 2003 to0.43% in 2007, indicating that conditions for technologytrade have improved substantially in the Republic ofKorea. However, judging from 2007 figures, this ratio is stillvery low compared to such advanced countries as Japan(3.49), UK (1.90), USA (1.75), Sweden (1.51), Finland (0.69)and Germany (1.11).

430

More articles in SCI journalsThe number of articles in Science Citation Index (SCI)journals is a commonly used indicator to measure R&Dperformance at the national level. The number of Koreanarticles almost doubled between 2003 and 2008 from 18 830 to 35 569 (Figure 11). In addition, the number ofKorean articles in SCI journals per 100 researchers has goneup to nine since 2003, indicating that research efficiency hasimproved overall.

Figure 9: Triadic patent family registrations and patent productivity in the Republic of Korea, 1993–2005

0

500

1 500

1 000

2 000

3 000

2 500

3 500

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

487663 820

1 0271 383

2 018

2 5833 158

1993

161

1994

213

1995

324

1996

324

1997

416

0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.030.04

0.06 0.06 0.06

0.08

0.110.12

0.13 0.15

0.10

0.05

0

Triadic patent families per billion KRW of research budget

Source: MoST (2007) White Paper on National Science & Technology Policy from 2003 to 2007

Figure 10: Volume of Korean technology trade and revenue and expenditure ratio, 1993–2007

0

0.20

0.30

0.25

0.05

0.15

0.10

0.35

0.45

0.40

0.50

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20071993

992

1994

1 387 2 059 2 406 2 577 2 527 2 879 3 264 3 262 3 360 4 053 5 564 6 150 6 734 7 282

1995 1996 1997

0.050.09

0.06 0.050.07 0.06 0.07

0.07

0.410.42

0.43

8 000

7 000

6 000

5 000

4 000

3 000

2 000

1 000

0

Total volume of technology trade

Technology revenue to expenditure ratio (export/import)

0.23 0.230.25

0.34

% US$ millions

Source: MEST and KISTEP(2009) Survey of Research and Development in Korea


Republic of Korea

431

Furthermore, the distribution of Korean articles in SCIjournals shows a heavy focus on the physical sciences andengineering, with far fewer publications in life sciencesthan in other dynamic countries for research (OECD, 2009).Figure 12 suggests this might be changing, albeit slowly.In terms of volume and world share, Korea performs bestin clinical medicine and material sciences respectively(Figure 13).

Improved competitiveness in S&TThe results of a comprehensive evaluation carried out bythe Institute of Management Development (IMD) inSwitzerland of national competitiveness in S&T for variouscountries show that the competitiveness of the Republicof Korea in S&T has taken off since 2003 (IMD, 2009). Thecountry’s scientific competitiveness climbed from 13th

place worldwide in 2005 to 3rd place in 2009.

Repub

lic of Korea

Figure 11: Korean scientific articles, 1993–2008

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 20081993

2 965

1994

3 9555 379 6 426

7 8689 843

11 324 12 47214 892 15 902

18 830 19 328

23 089

35 569

1995 1996 1997

3.003.37

Number in SCI journals

4.19

9.50 9.209.84

4.875.68

7.598.42

7.80 8.32 8.379.07 9.40

11.8

23 28627 284

0

35 000

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Number per 100 researchers

Source: MEST( 2010) Main Statistics on Science and Technology

Figure 12: Korean publications by major field of science, 2003 and 2007 (%)

Life sciences

Physical sciences

Engineering, technology and mathematics

Social and behavioural sciences

33.3

35.5

42.0

36.8

21.0

26.0

3.9

2.6

2003

2007

0 10 20 30 40 50

Source: MEST( 2010) Main Statistics on Science and Technology



432

Figure 14: Changes in the Republic of Korea’s competitiveness ranking in S&T, 1994–2009According to an IMD evaluation

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 20091994 1995 1996 1997

National competitiveness ranking S&T competitiveness ranking

24 24 24

8

2

6

2527 28 28

2017 24

32

6

14 14

28

32

26

3127

32

2730

36

41

29 29 2931

27

21

1417

131412

107

53

Science competitiveness ranking Technology competitiveness ranking

Source: IMD (2009) World Competitiveness Yearbook; OECD (2009) Country Review of Innovation Policy in Korea

Figure 13: Volume of Korean publications by major field of science, 2008

0

3

4

2

1

5

6

7

5.374.78

7 000

6 000

5 000

4 000

3 000

2 000

1 000

0

Number of articles cited in the SCI Republic of Korea’s world share

6.31

4.78

2.62

1.82

3.58

1.49

2.67

4.61

2.2

3.07

1.79

4.6

3.21

1.66

Co

mp

ute

r sc

ien

ce

share (%)

En

gin

ee

rin

g s

cie

nce

Ma

teri

al s

cie

nce

Ch

em

istr

y

Ea

rth

sci

en

ce

Ma

the

ma

tics

Ph

ysic

s

Sp

ace

sci

en

ce

Bio

log

y/b

ioch

em

istr

y

Imm

un

olo

gy

Mic

rob

iolo

gy

Mo

lecu

lar

bio

log

y/g

en

eti

cs

Ne

uro

scie

nce

/b

eh

avio

ura

l sci

en

ce

Ph

arm

aco

log

y

Clin

ica

l me

dic

ine

Ag

ricu

ltu

re

Eco

log

y/e

nv

iro

nm

en

tal s

cie

nce

Pla

nt

scie

nce

/a

nim

al s

cie

nce

1.86

2.47

5 006 290 1 851 234 896 833 592 1 034 5 980 873 530 1 1728644874 6133 2594 5091 221

Note: Data are taken from Thomson Reuters’ Science Citation Index Expanded.

Source: MEST (2010) Main Statistics on Science and Technology


Republic of Korea

433

In terms of technological competitiveness, however, theRepublic of Korea has taken the opposite path, slippingfrom 2nd place overall (2005) to 14th (2009) [Figure 14]. This is due to a poor showing for some key indicators. Forexample, in terms of the extent to which the developmentand application of technology are supported by the legalenvironment, the Republic of Korea ranks only 37th and fortechnological co-operation between companies 38th. It can only manage 36th place for the extent to whichtechnological regulation supports business developmentand innovation and 34th for the funding of technologicaldevelopment. Other indicators taken into account in theoverall evaluation include whether cyber security is beingadequately addressed by corporations (38th) and thepercentage of mobile telephone subscribers in thegeneral population (38th) [IMD, 2009]. In Japan, scientificcompetitiveness may have managed to hold on to 3rd place since 2009 but the country’s technologicalcompetitiveness has slipped from 9th place (2005) to 16th place (2009), owing to the recent economic recessionin Japan.

CONCLUSION

The Republic of Korea has performed exceptionally well inthe past few decades in its efforts to catch up to theworld’s leading economies, instigating waves of industrialupgrades to become a world leader in some of the mosthigh-tech industries (OECD, 2009). More than 80% ofGERD has gone on research applications and develop-ment. Of this share, 50% has fuelled economicdevelopment with a focus on industrial technology.

Despite the global economic recession caused by the US subprime mortgage crisis, the Korean economyexpanded by 1.2% in 2009 and is projected to grow 4.4 % this year (OECD, 2009). The Republic of Korea owes much of its success to high levels of both totalexpenditure on R&D and business expenditure on R&D, a highly educated labour force, strong infrastructure inICTs and the development of substantial technologicalcapabilities in a number of high-tech areas.8

However, the Republic of Korea is now entering a criticalphase in its development with few guarantees of continuingsuccess. It is reaching the limits of its catch-up strategy dueto the difficulties of creating a new growth engine, itscontinuing deficit in the technological balance of paymentsand a lack of national R&D investment in preparedness fornatural and human-induced disasters and in global issueslike climate change.

To overcome these limitations, the Republic of Korea’s STIstrategy needs to shift from a ‘catch-up’ model to a ‘postcatch-up’ model incorporating such features as a ‘creativemode’ and ‘green growth mode’ , among others. Futureinvestment in R&D should be expanded in the areas ofbasic research and green technology to enable research tofocus more on frontier research and take a greener path,raise the innovative and absorptive capacities of small andmedium-sized enterprises and link up researchers better tointernational sources of knowledge (OECD, 2009). TheRepublic of Korea needs to expand R&D investment insocially responsible technology in such areas as disasterprevention, food safety and mitigation and adaptation toclimate change.

It will also be necessary to boost R&D investment in theuniversity sector. Universities are the key performers ofbasic research and concentrate high-quality humancapital. Korean STI policy needs to nurture and utilize itsworld-class human resources and to strengthen globalS&T co-operation.

Repub

lic of Korea

8. Korean firms recently conquered the highest world market share in threeareas: DRAM semiconductors, a memory product commonly used in personalcomputers; liquid crystal display (LCD) computer monitors and televisions towhich thin-film transistors (TFT) are added; and CDMA cellular phones.



REFERENCES

Government of Republic of Korea (2008) Science and Technology Basic Plan, 2008–2012. Seoul.

—— (2003) Science and Technology Basic Plan, 2003–2007.Seoul.

IMD (2009) World Competitiveness Yearbook. Institute ofManagement Development.Available at:www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/index.cfm

Korea Foundation for Advancement of Science andCulture (2006) Survey on the Level of Understanding ofPeople concerning Science an Technology.

Korean National Commission for UNESCO (2009) A Decadeof Dynamic Development in Science and Technology inthe Republic of Korea, 2000–2009.

Lee, J.J. (2008) Korea’s Science and Technology Policy 2008.KISTEP R&D Management Programme for High LevelPolicy Makers. Korea Institute of Science andTechnology Evaluation and Planning.

—— (2007) Report to the Presidential Advisory Council onScience and Technolgy. Korea Institute of Science andTechnology Evaluation and Planning.

MEST(2010) Main Statistics on Science and Technology.Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Seoul.

MEST/KISTEP (2009) Survey of Research and Development inKorea. Ministry of Education, Science and Technologyand Korea Institute of Science and TechnologyEvaluation and Planning. December.

MoST (2007) Summary of White Paper on National Scienceand Technology Policy from 2003 to 2007. Ministry ofScience and Technology, Seoul.

NSTC (2008) Science and Technology Basic Plan of the LeeMyung-Bak government (2008–2012).

—— (2007a) Means of Technology-based Enhancement ofQuality of Life for the Realization of Vision 2030. NationalScience and Technology Council.

—— (2007b) Comprehensive Means of Technology-basedImprovement of the Quality of Life. National Scienceand Technology Council.

434

NSTC/KISTEP (2009) Analysis of National R&D Performanceand Policy Implications in Korea. National Science andTechnology Council and Korea Institute of Science andTechnology Evaluation and Planning.

NSTC/MEST (2009) 2009 Survey and Analysis of the NationalR&D Programme. National Science and TechnologyCouncil and Ministry of Education, Science andTechnology.

OECD (2009) OECD Country Review of Innovation Policy inKorea. Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment.

—— (2008) Main Science and Technology Indicators.Organisation for the Economic Co-operations andDevelopment.

—— (2007) STI Scoreboard. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

PACST/KISTEP (2007) Analysis of the Performance of Scienceand Technology Policy of the Government from 2003 to2007. Presidential Advisory Council on Science andTechnology and Korea Institute of Science andTechnology Evaluation and Planning.

HanKyoreh (2009) S. Korea’s record-breaking low birth raterequires employment policy revisions. Editorial.HanKyoreh. 13 July. Available at:http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/365484.html

Yonhap, New (2006) S. Korean fertility rate fell to record-lowin 2005. 19 September. Available at:http://blog.naver.com/kcriu/140028944672

WEBSITES

Global Research Laboratory:http://nanohub.org/resources/3386

National Science and Technology Information Service:http://rndgate.ntis.go.kr/

National Science and Technology Council: www.nstc.go.kr


http://www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/index.cfm

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editori al/365484.html

http://blog.naver.com/kcriu/140028944672

http://nanohub.org/resources/3386

http://rndgate.ntis.go.kr

http://www.nstc.go.kr

Republic of Korea

435

Republic of Korea

Dr Jang-Jae Lee was born in Daegu in 1959. He isSenior Research Fellow and former Vice-President ofthe Korea Institute of Science and TechnologyEvaluation and Planning (KISTEP), with responsibilityfor analysing STI activities and preparingtechnological innovation policy alternatives for theNational Science and Technology Council (NSTC)chaired by the President of the Republic of Korea.

Dr Lee also serves as Science and Technology Advisorto the governor of several provinces and to a numberof government agencies, including the NationalAssembly Budget Office and the Audit and InspectionResearch Institute.

He obtained his PhD in Public Administration with a focus on science from Kookmin University, after obtaining a Master of Policy Science from Seoul National University. Dr Lee has a longexperience of innovation studies, including the tiesbetween industrial and academic research,collaboration among institutes, technology strategy,regional innovation systems and the evaluation andco-ordination of national R&D programmes at theScience and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) from1988 to 1999.

Since joining KISTEP in February 1999, he has beeninvolved in evaluating national R&D programmes, co-ordinating R&D budgets and planning the mid- andlong-term National Science and Technology Plan forNSTC in his capacity as Principle Investigator.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to thank Prof. Lee June-Seung,President of KISTEP, and Mr Thomas (Sungjun) Youn,Associate Research Fellow at KISTEP, for their manyvaluable and helpful suggestions.


Documents

Korean STI policy needs to nurture and utilize its world ... · Korean STI policy needs to nurture and utilize its world-class human resources and to strengthen global S&T co-operation