South Korea's Core Technology Level Ranks Last Among 5 Major Countries... Caught Up by China

The US Leads in Technology Level... EU, Japan, China Follow, South Korea Next
Technology Levels by Sector: Space & Aerospace, ICT & Software Decline
Government R&D Domestic Patent Applications Increase, Registrations Decrease

South Korea's core technology level was evaluated as the lowest among the five major countries including the United States, the European Union (EU), Japan, and China. In particular, the technology levels in two fields, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Software (SW), were found to have declined.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held the 57th Steering Committee meeting of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council (hereinafter referred to as the Steering Committee) and deliberated and approved four agenda items, including the 2022 technology level evaluation results. The approved agenda items included the 2024 inter-ministerial integrated research support system (IRIS) promotion plan, the 2024 defense science and technology innovation implementation plan, and the 2022 government R&D patent performance survey and analysis results.

Despite Slight Improvement in Korea's Core Technology Level... Lowest Among the Five Major Countries

Trends in Technology Levels of the Top 5 Countries (Unit: %) / Source: Ministry of Science and ICT

According to the 2022 technology level evaluation results, South Korea's overall target technology level was 81.5%, the lowest among the five major countries surveyed. The United States was the highest at 100%, followed by the EU (94.7%), Japan (86.4%), China (82.6%), and South Korea (81.5%). Although South Korea's technology level improved by 1.4 percentage points compared to 2020, it was overtaken by China, which rose by 2.6 percentage points during the same period. South Korea's technology gap (3.2 years) was shortened by 0.1 years.

The technology level evaluation is conducted every two years targeting the five major countries in accordance with the Framework Act on Science and Technology. It is carried out through a combination of quantitative analysis, which strengthens the analysis of papers and patents from the five major countries for 136 national core technologies across 11 major fields including 50 national strategic technologies under the '5th Basic Plan for Science and Technology,' and qualitative evaluation through expert Delphi surveys.

By the 11 major fields, technology levels improved in nine fields including construction and transportation, disaster safety and defense compared to 2020, while they declined in two fields: space, aviation, and marine, and ICT and SW. The Ministry of Science and ICT analyzed that the decline in the two fields was due to a significant addition and change in the technologies being evaluated. The 11 major fields include construction and transportation, disaster safety, space, aviation and marine, defense, machinery and manufacturing, materials and nano, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food, life and healthcare, energy and resources, environment and meteorology, and ICT and SW.

In terms of national strategic technology levels, South Korea (81.7%) was also evaluated as the lowest. The United States (100%) showed the highest level, followed by the EU (92.3%), China (86.5%), and Japan (85.2%). South Korea's top technology field was secondary batteries, while fields with lower technology levels compared to the United States included space, aviation, marine, and quantum technologies. The evaluation results are used as basic data for science and technology policy formulation, R&D project planning, and the establishment of country- and technology-specific science and technology response strategies.

The 2022 government R&D patent performance survey and analysis results were also addressed as an agenda item. The Korean Intellectual Property Office reported to the Steering Committee the survey and analysis of patent outcomes from government R&D projects over the past five years from 2018 to 2022. According to the results, the number of domestic patent applications from government R&D in 2022 increased by 16.3% compared to the previous year, while the number of domestic patent registrations decreased by 16%. The government selected the top 23% of patents based on evaluations of patent rights, technology, and utilization, and the proportion of excellent patents was 4.5% in 2022, showing an increasing trend since 2019. Technology transfers and royalty income from universities and public research institutes involving government R&D patents decreased by 0.9% and 11.3%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Reestablishing Governance for Defense Science and Technology Innovation... Promotion of IRIS 2.0 Transition

In accordance with Article 6 of the Defense Science and Technology Innovation Promotion Act, the defense science and technology innovation implementation plan was also deliberated and approved by the Steering Committee. The detailed promotion plan includes ▲focused investment in advanced technology development to prepare for existing threats and future battlefields ▲establishment of an institutional foundation for innovative, open, and convergent defense science and technology development ▲reestablishment of governance including the promotion of the establishment of the Defense Artificial Intelligence Committee ▲promotion of workforce training and infrastructure strengthening ▲strengthening civil-military cooperation and expanding international cooperation.

Based on the past IRIS performance, the IRIS promotion plan was also discussed to review this year's system operation and improvement directions. IRIS integrated the research support systems of 29 ministries and specialized agencies including the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, the Rural Development Administration, and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute last year. Through 115 communications with research sites, the system was improved, and efforts were made to enhance system completeness by acquiring ISMS-P, an information security and personal information protection management certification system.

This year, as a follow-up to the 'R&D Innovation Plan' announced at the previous Science and Technology Advisory Council meeting, the plan is to transition to an integrated research management system using digital technology (IRIS 2.0) and focus on strengthening system stability following the full application of IRIS. Planned measures include ▲limiting the number of simultaneously conducted projects and pre-verification of non-compliance with mandatory requirements ▲reviewing research distinctiveness centered on original documents to ensure reliability in project selection and accountability in research execution ▲diversifying and expanding visualization of information provided by IRIS to enhance integrated data research-policy usability ▲optimizing database transmission (query) structure and improving system performance through hardware expansion.

Ryu Gwang-jun, head of the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters, who presided over the first meeting as chairman of the Steering Committee, said, "The Steering Committee, which includes about 20 related ministries and top experts in each field, is a forum to seek the nation's optimal solutions beyond departmental boundaries," and added, "I ask for the interest and encouragement of the members so that the main policies and related projects of each agenda can be implemented as planned."

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