April 20, 2024
Industrials
Quality of Korea’s R&D still lags despite huge investment
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea is having difficulty riding the new global industrial wave, as it is caught between China and Japan.
To progress in the next industrial revolution, the country needs to overhaul its research and development system across corporate, public and academic sectors, experts say.
“The country’s R&D sector has grown in quantity but remains short of achieving qualitative growth sufficient to accommodate changes brought by the fourth industrial revolution,” said Park Yong-hyun, chairman of the Korea Industrial Technology Association.
The fourth industrial revolution, also called industry 4.0, refers to a fusion of smart technologies that combines the physical, digital and biological spheres. This new industrial wave comes with breakthrough technologies in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, self-driving vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology and materials science.
Experts say an overhaul of the research and development system is the key to the country developing new growth engines needed to boost its sluggish economy in the long term.
South Korea recorded the highest ratio of R&D investment to gross domestic product in the world for the third consecutive year in 2015, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
But the large investment has not yet been matched by high-caliber achievements.
For a year from September 2015, 38 papers by the country’s research organizations were published in the world’s three major scientific journals -- Nature, Science and Cell -- compared to 172 for China and 113 for Japan.
“Our country tends to extend the existing patterns of investment, making it difficult to quickly engage in latest areas of research,” said Kim Tae-yun, a professor of science and technology policy at Hanyang University in Seoul.
South Korea’s R&D system has been molded after a strategy for catching up with advanced economies in key manufacturing sectors.
Corporations account for nearly 75 percent of the country’s R&D investment that amounted to 66 trillion won ($56.5 billion) last year. Currently, South Korean companies run about 37,000 research institutes, at which more than 320,000 researchers work.
But they still need to do much more to enhance the quality of their research.
The country suffers an annual technological trade deficit of about 6 trillion won, meaning local firms pay more to use overseas technology than other countries pay to use Korean patents. This is due to dependence on core technologies developed by other nations.
According to the industrial technology association, nearly half of South Korean companies focus on R&D aimed at reaping results within three years. Only 7 percent set their sights on developing new technologies over more than a decade.
“The perception needs to spread that investment in technological innovation is investment in the future,” said Park.
Closed, vertical cultures permeating South Korean companies and other institutions also discourage the fusion and creativity needed for successful R&D.
Only 8 percent of corporate R&D investments are currently spent on joint projects with university laboratories, far less than in other advanced economies.
“Barriers should be removed between corporations, academia and government organizations as well as between large and small companies,” said Park.
The 34-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development indicated in a report that South Korea’s R&D sector is long on investment items but short on the commercialization and transfer of new technologies.
It is no wonder that South Korea ranked so low in a global survey of preparedness for the fourth industrial revolution, disclosed by global financial services company UBS at the World Economic Forum conference in January in Davos, Switzerland. South Korea placed 25th out of the 139 countries surveyed, lagging behind the US and Japan, which came in at fifth and 12th places, respectively, and slightly ahead of China at 28th.
Many experts think it is only a matter of time before South Korea is overtaken by China, which is putting the development of new industries at the center of its industrial policy.
Park said government policy needs to be changed to ensure more support will be given to companies capable of technological innovation rather than those with larger turnover and manpower.
Since last year, the government has pushed to overhaul its R&D framework, focusing on enhancing synergy among industrial, academic and public institutes and increasing funds for research that could lay the foundations for future growth.
Critics say, however, it has become more difficult to coordinate work among relevant government agencies since a presidential panel on science and technology was abolished when President Park Geun-hye’s administration took over in 2013.
They emphasize that a state-funded foundation tasked with allocating 4.5 trillion won to research institutes be allowed to carry out their programs in a consistent and independent manner based on a long-term vision.
“Changes are needed to maximize the creativity of researchers by shutting off influence from government officials,” said a professor at a provincial university, asking not to be named.
By Kim Kyung-ho/The Korea Herald (khkim@heraldcorp.com)
To progress in the next industrial revolution, the country needs to overhaul its research and development system across corporate, public and academic sectors, experts say.
“The country’s R&D sector has grown in quantity but remains short of achieving qualitative growth sufficient to accommodate changes brought by the fourth industrial revolution,” said Park Yong-hyun, chairman of the Korea Industrial Technology Association.
The fourth industrial revolution, also called industry 4.0, refers to a fusion of smart technologies that combines the physical, digital and biological spheres. This new industrial wave comes with breakthrough technologies in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, self-driving vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology and materials science.
Experts say an overhaul of the research and development system is the key to the country developing new growth engines needed to boost its sluggish economy in the long term.
South Korea recorded the highest ratio of R&D investment to gross domestic product in the world for the third consecutive year in 2015, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
But the large investment has not yet been matched by high-caliber achievements.
For a year from September 2015, 38 papers by the country’s research organizations were published in the world’s three major scientific journals -- Nature, Science and Cell -- compared to 172 for China and 113 for Japan.
“Our country tends to extend the existing patterns of investment, making it difficult to quickly engage in latest areas of research,” said Kim Tae-yun, a professor of science and technology policy at Hanyang University in Seoul.
South Korea’s R&D system has been molded after a strategy for catching up with advanced economies in key manufacturing sectors.
Corporations account for nearly 75 percent of the country’s R&D investment that amounted to 66 trillion won ($56.5 billion) last year. Currently, South Korean companies run about 37,000 research institutes, at which more than 320,000 researchers work.
But they still need to do much more to enhance the quality of their research.
The country suffers an annual technological trade deficit of about 6 trillion won, meaning local firms pay more to use overseas technology than other countries pay to use Korean patents. This is due to dependence on core technologies developed by other nations.
According to the industrial technology association, nearly half of South Korean companies focus on R&D aimed at reaping results within three years. Only 7 percent set their sights on developing new technologies over more than a decade.
“The perception needs to spread that investment in technological innovation is investment in the future,” said Park.
Closed, vertical cultures permeating South Korean companies and other institutions also discourage the fusion and creativity needed for successful R&D.
Only 8 percent of corporate R&D investments are currently spent on joint projects with university laboratories, far less than in other advanced economies.
“Barriers should be removed between corporations, academia and government organizations as well as between large and small companies,” said Park.
The 34-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development indicated in a report that South Korea’s R&D sector is long on investment items but short on the commercialization and transfer of new technologies.
It is no wonder that South Korea ranked so low in a global survey of preparedness for the fourth industrial revolution, disclosed by global financial services company UBS at the World Economic Forum conference in January in Davos, Switzerland. South Korea placed 25th out of the 139 countries surveyed, lagging behind the US and Japan, which came in at fifth and 12th places, respectively, and slightly ahead of China at 28th.
Many experts think it is only a matter of time before South Korea is overtaken by China, which is putting the development of new industries at the center of its industrial policy.
Park said government policy needs to be changed to ensure more support will be given to companies capable of technological innovation rather than those with larger turnover and manpower.
Since last year, the government has pushed to overhaul its R&D framework, focusing on enhancing synergy among industrial, academic and public institutes and increasing funds for research that could lay the foundations for future growth.
Critics say, however, it has become more difficult to coordinate work among relevant government agencies since a presidential panel on science and technology was abolished when President Park Geun-hye’s administration took over in 2013.
They emphasize that a state-funded foundation tasked with allocating 4.5 trillion won to research institutes be allowed to carry out their programs in a consistent and independent manner based on a long-term vision.
“Changes are needed to maximize the creativity of researchers by shutting off influence from government officials,” said a professor at a provincial university, asking not to be named.
By Kim Kyung-ho/The Korea Herald (khkim@heraldcorp.com)
