Korea’s Competitiveness in Science Ranks 19th

It was reported that Korea’s global ranking for competitiveness in science has dropped significantly during the past year.

According to a National Assembly inspection document that the Ministry of Science and Technology submitted to the Science, Technology, Information, and Telecommunication Committee on October 4, Korea’s ranking for competitiveness in science announced by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) was 19th.

The subject for this inspection included 30 member nations of the OECD and 21 newly emerging countries.

Korea’s global ranking for competitiveness in science has shown a continuous rise, placing 22nd in 2000, 21st in 2001, and 10th in 2002 and 2003, but took a downward turn this year.

The evaluation classifications of IMD for competitiveness in science consist of 20 classifications such as research and development investment, scientific environment, and intellectual property rights.

According to the Science, Technology, Information, and Telecommunication Committee, only six classifications such as the number of patents and research and development manpower were open to the public this year.

On an item-by-item basis, the productivity for obtaining patents per 1,000 domestic researchers fell from second to third position last year. Also, the importance of comparing research and development costs with GDP fell from second position to 10th, while the degree that basic research contributes to economic development fell from eighth position to 14th.

Yong Park parky@donga.com