The Unites States came in first in 2017, followed by Switzerland, Israel, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands, according to the KISTEP. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s science and technology capabilities ranked seventh among the 34 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2017, a state-run think tank said Thursday.
The Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) said the evaluation was based on a total of five categories: research environment, support from both the public and private sectors, and quality of work carried out by scientists and engineers, the results of research, and overall network capabilities.
The Unites States came in first in 2017, followed by Switzerland, Israel, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands, according to the KISTEP.
In 2016, South Korea ranked the fifth among 30 OECD member states.
The KISTEP said the evaluation has been conducted every year since 2006 but the method of ranking changed last year.
“The evaluation standards changed in 2017, and that affected calculation method,” said a KISTEP official who asked not to be named, adding that it is difficult to just say that South Korea’s ranking fell from 2016.
(Yonhap)
