The report examines the competitiveness of scientific research and technology in four countries with regards to investment and outcome during the period from 2008 to 2012. (image: Kobizmedia/Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – China is ahead of the game compared to Korea in 13 out of 85 main areas of scientific research and technology, according to a report published by Hyundai Research Institute on January 11. According to the report, competition between Korea, China, Japan and Germany in areas of scientific technology is more intense than ever, with China ranking first in R&D investment.
The report examines the competitiveness of scientific research and technology in four countries with regards to investment and outcome during the period from 2008 to 2012.
On a relative scale, Korea quickly pursued Japan and Germany in terms of investment since 1997. The rate of R&D investment compared to GDP was 4.36 percent in 2012 in Korea, ahead of Japan (3.35%), Germany (2.98%) and China (1.98%). The number of researchers in Korea per 1,000 economically active individuals was 12.4 in 2012, compared to 9.9 in Japan, 8.2 in Germany and 1.8 in China.
However, Korea ranks in the middle in terms of outcomes. The number of patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) per Korean researcher was 0.038, which was lower than 0.068 in Japan and 0.054 in Germany, but higher than 0.013 in China. The number of published papers per researcher in Korea was 0.089, which was lower than 0.137 in Germany and higher than 0.072 in Japan and 0.086 in China.
On an absolute scale, Korea ranked at the bottom in every domain. Overall investment in R&D in 2012 was 65.4 billion dollars, and the number of researchers was 316,000 in Korea, while corresponding figures for China were 293.5 billion dollars in investment and 1,404,000 researchers.
The number of Korean patent applications in 2012 was 12,000, which was 25 percent of the number in Japan and 60 percent of the number in China and Germany respectively. Looking at overall competitiveness on an absolute scale, China ranked first and Japan second, followed by Germany and then Korea.
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
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