South Korea ranked 6th globally in this year's Global Innovation Index. This is a rise of four places compared to the previous year, and South Korea has consistently been in the top 10 for the past five years.
On the 27th, the Korean Intellectual Property Office announced that South Korea ranked 6th overall among 133 countries in the '2024 Global Innovation Index' recently released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The Global Innovation Index is an index that measures innovation capabilities, which are key drivers of future economic development, targeting WIPO member countries. It is jointly produced by WIPO, the European School of Management, and Cornell University in the United States. WIPO has been measuring and publishing the Global Innovation Index rankings since 2007.
South Korea ranked 12th in 2018 and 11th in 2019, then entered the top 10 for the first time in 2020. It subsequently ranked 5th in 2021, 6th in 2022, and 10th last year. These results show that South Korea has been consistently positioned within the top 10 over the past five years, reflecting international recognition of its innovation capabilities.
The Global Innovation Index is calculated by combining 78 detailed indicators across seven categories: five input areas including human capital and research, and two output areas including knowledge and technology. South Korea ranked 6th in the input category and 4th in the output category. It also achieved first place globally in the human capital and research category for six consecutive years.
In detailed indicators, South Korea ranked first worldwide in five areas: patent applications relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), international patent applications (PCT) relative to GDP, design applications relative to GDP (all related to intellectual property), corporate research expenditure relative to GDP, and corporate research talent.
Among the 133 countries included in this year's survey, Switzerland took first place (for the 15th consecutive year), followed by Sweden, the United States, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. China ranked 11th, and Japan ranked 13th. South Korea and Singapore were the only Asian countries included in the top 10.
Jung In-sik, Director of the Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, "The government's and private sector's focused investment in talent development and research and development (R&D) appears to be the reason why the international community highly evaluates South Korea's innovation capabilities." He added, "The Korean Intellectual Property Office will continue to strive to create an innovation ecosystem where intellectual property can be effectively utilized and protected."
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