South Korea Ranks Third Worldwide in Patent Growth as Global Filings Rebound (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea ranked third globally last year in the growth of patent applications, underscoring Asia’s expanding role in global innovation even as economic uncertainty persisted.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2025 World Intellectual Property Indicators, cited Tuesday by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning, worldwide patent filings reached about 3.73 million in 2024, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier. It marked the fastest annual growth since 2018.
China, India, South Korea and Japan drove most of the increase. South Korea recorded an additional 7,523 patent applications compared with the previous year, trailing only China, which added more than 153,000 filings, and India, with over 12,000. Japan followed with an increase of 4,533 applications.
By patent office, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration led with roughly 1.8 million filings, up 9 percent year on year. The United States Patent and Trademark Office received about 603,000 applications, followed by Japan’s patent office with 307,000. South Korea’s Intellectual Property Office ranked fourth with 246,245 applications, ahead of the European Patent Office.
The five largest patent offices accounted for 85.5 percent of all global patent filings last year, up from a decade earlier. WIPO noted that Asia-based offices handled about 70 percent of all applications worldwide, highlighting the region’s growing dominance in intellectual property activity.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
