Samsung Electronics, R&D Investment of 15.9 Trillion KRW... Record High

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Samsung Electronics' investment in research and development (R&D) costs up to the third quarter of this year reached 15.9 trillion KRW, setting a new record for the same period.

According to Samsung Electronics' quarterly report on the 16th, the cumulative R&D investment cost up to the third quarter this year totaled 15.8971 trillion KRW, an increase of about 600 billion KRW compared to the same period last year (15.3 trillion KRW). The ratio of R&D costs to sales was recorded at 9.1%.

Samsung Electronics' R&D costs have steadily increased, with 16.8 trillion KRW in 2017, 18.7 trillion KRW in 2018, and 20.2 trillion KRW last year. This year, it is expected to break the record again on an annual basis.

During the same period, Samsung acquired 4,974 domestic patents and 6,321 U.S. patents. Globally, it holds a cumulative total of 194,643 patents. In particular, it has the largest number of patents in the U.S. with 75,472 cumulative patents.

This year, facility investment costs reached 25.5 trillion KRW up to the third quarter. This is a 52% increase compared to the same period last year (16.8 trillion KRW).

The number of domestic employees as of the third quarter was 108,998, also marking a record high. Compared to the end of last year, this is an increase of about 3,700 employees.

The average salary per employee was 72 million KRW, which increased by 29 million KRW compared to the first half of the year (43 million KRW), reflecting bonuses and other factors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.