Minister Yoon Sang-jick of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and President Jeong Jae-hoon of the Korea Institute for the Advancement of Technology reported the results of their study on the research and development (R&D) investment trend of the 1000 Korean companies that made the highest R&D investments. The total R&D investment by these top 1000 companies was recorded as KRW35.6 trillion [∼USD$34 billion], up 12.7% from 2011.

Looking at R&D investment by sector in 2012, the semiconductor sector was in the lead with KRW12.3 trillion, followed by the electronics sector (KRW6.9 trillion) and the automobile sector (KRW4.6 trillion). In terms of the year-on-year increase, the machinery sector accounted for 18.3%, followed by the electronics sector (15.1%) and the semiconductor sector (7.8%).

Table. R&D Investment and Increase Rate by Sector (KRW billion, %)

Note: Partial list by sector

Of the 2012 total of KRW35.6 trillion invested in R&D, large-scale enterprises (over 1000 employees) invested KRW30.3 trillion, followed by high potential enterprises (300–999 employees) and smaller businesses (under 299 employees), which invested KRW2.4 trillion and KRW2.8 trillion, respectively.

The year-on-year increase rate in 2012 was recorded as 13.8%, 3.1%, and 9.5% for large-scale enterprises, high potential enterprises, and smaller businesses, respectively.

According to the Ministry, the government will continue to analyze and review the R&D investment trends of the private sector and reflect the results in R&D policy establishment.

In tracking global R&D performance trends, the US National Science Foundation noted in 2011 that South Korea’s R&D/GDP ratio rose to 4.0%.