Korea Ranks 7th Globally in Space Technology Patents... "Private Sector Participation and Launch Vehicle Patents Are Insufficient"

Ranking of countries with the highest number of space technology-related patent applications from 1990 to 2020. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] South Korea ranks 7th in the world for patent applications related to space technology. In particular, with the recent successful deployment of the lunar orbiter 'Danuri' in space, the international community's perception of South Korea's space technology status has also changed.

However, compared to major space technology countries, the relatively small number of patents held, the low participation rate of private companies, and securing key patents in the launch vehicle sector remain challenges that South Korea must address going forward.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 15th, South Korea currently holds a total of 840 patent applications related to space technology, accounting for about 4% of the world's patent applications. Simply looking at the patent application rankings, the top six countries with the most applications are the United States, China, France, Japan, Russia, and Germany, in that order.

The issue is that although the number of space technology-related patent applications is steadily increasing domestically, the number is still far too small compared to major countries, and the participation of private companies is very low.

In fact, the number of patent applications related to space technology from leading countries (1990?2020) are 6,226 for the United States, 4,330 for China, 3,409 for France, 2,669 for Japan, 2,084 for Russia, and 953 for Germany, which is more than seven times the number held by South Korea.

Moreover, most of the space technology-related patents held by South Korea were filed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (476 applications), while private companies filed only 89 applications, which is very low. In contrast, leading space technology countries such as the United States and France have private companies like Boeing and Airbus leading technology development and patent applications, highlighting a stark contrast.

Based on this, KIPO emphasized, "Countries around the world are fiercely competing to secure core patents for space technology development and achievements," and added, "To gain competitiveness in the global technology hegemony competition, it is essential for South Korea to activate private sector participation."

When examining the distribution of domestic space technology patent applications, the satellite sector shows a relatively "favorable" level, but the launch vehicle sector is evaluated as "insufficient." Space technology is broadly divided into satellite and launch vehicle technologies, and South Korea needs to place more emphasis on the latter.

For example, the global patent application share for satellite-related technologies is 5%, ranking 5th in the world, whereas the share for launch vehicle-related technologies is 2%, ranking 7th.

This differs from countries like the United States, China, and France, where patent application rankings for both satellite and launch vehicle technology fields are within the top three worldwide.

Lee In-sil, Commissioner of KIPO, stated, "The global patent competition in the space technology field is intensifying," and diagnosed, "For South Korea to gain an advantage in this technology hegemony competition, efforts to develop technology and secure core patents are absolutely necessary."

In particular, Commissioner Lee said, "In South Korea, participation of private companies in the space technology field is urgently needed," and added, "KIPO will not spare support to provide private sectors with big data on patents by core technologies in the space technology field to discover promising technologies and secure them as foundational technologies to enhance private sector competitiveness."