Businesses spent 89.4 trillion won on R&D, while public research institutes injected 12.9 trillion won and universities 10.4 trillion won. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea invested more than 112 trillion won (US$84.6 billion) in research and development (R&D) last year, making it the second-largest spender in the world in comparison to the size of its economy, the science ministry said Thursday.
The combined R&D spending by the South Korean government and the private sector in 2022 amounted to 112.6 trillion won, up 10.3 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.
The total R&D spending accounted for 5.21 percent of South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
The percentage was the second highest in the world, following Israel, which spent 5.56 percent of its GDP on R&D.
The ministry said the government and the public sector spent a combined 26.3 trillion won on R&D, while 86.3 trillion won was from the private sector and foreign institutions.
Businesses spent 89.4 trillion won on R&D, while public research institutes injected 12.9 trillion won and universities 10.4 trillion won.
By research type, basic research accounted for 15 percent of the total R&D investment, applied research 19.9 percent and development research 65 percent, according to the ministry.
(Yonhap)
