2023 R&D Activity Survey
Companies Account for 79% of the Total
Last year, the total expenditure on research and development (R&D) in South Korea, combining both private and government sectors, was recorded at 119.074 trillion won. The ratio of R&D expenditure to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 4.96%, maintaining its position as the second highest in the world after Israel.
On the 29th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the results of the "2023 R&D Activity Survey" containing this information. According to the survey, South Korea's total R&D expenditure last year increased by 6.428 trillion won compared to the previous year.
The ratio to GDP also rose by 0.11 percentage points from 4.85% in 2022. Although the previously announced ratio for 2022 was 5.21%, the figure was adjusted after the Bank of Korea changed the GDP base year from 2015 to 2020.
Of the 2023 R&D expenditure, government funding accounted for 28.1276 trillion won (23.6%), while private and foreign funding made up 90.9464 trillion won (76.4%), with the government funding ratio increasing by 0.2 percentage points from the previous year.
By research performing entity, companies spent 94.2968 trillion won, accounting for 79.2% of the total, public research institutes spent 13.8837 trillion won, and universities spent 10.8935 trillion won.
By R&D stage, basic research accounted for 17.7404 trillion won (14.9%), applied research for 23.4752 trillion won (19.7%), and development research for 77.8584 trillion won (65.4%).
The total number of researchers in South Korea in 2023 was 603,566, an increase of 2,036 from the previous year. Including research assistants, the total R&D workforce was 827,963, with female researchers numbering 143,127.
The number of full-time researchers was 490,256, an increase of 1,482 from the previous year, ranking fourth in the world after China, the United States, and Japan. The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that the number of researchers per 1,000 employed persons was 17.3, and per 1,000 population was 9.5, ranking first globally.
The number of corporate researchers was 438,674, a decrease of 4,596 from the previous year. Universities had 119,447 researchers, and public research institutes had 45,445. By degree, there were 128,703 with doctorates, 167,214 with master's degrees, and 279,063 with bachelor's degrees.
Meanwhile, the top 10 companies by sales saw decreases in both R&D expenditure and number of researchers, whereas companies ranked 11th to 30th increased their R&D expenditure to 16.2633 trillion won, a 40.3% rise compared to the previous year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
