Last year, domestic research and development (R&D) investment was 131.0462 trillion won, up 10.1% from the previous year, and the R&D-to-GDP ratio was 5.13%, topping 5% for the first time and maintaining second place in the world after Israel. In particular, private and foreign funding totaled 103.279 trillion won, surpassing 100 trillion won for the first time.
The Ministry of Science and ICT on the 26th released the results of the 2024 research and development activity survey. The findings are based on an investigation and analysis of R&D expenditures and R&D workforce at 69,042 institutions, including public research institutes, universities, and corporations.
According to the survey, total research and development spending last year was 131.0462 trillion won. That is an increase of 11.9722 trillion won (10.1%) from a year earlier. The R&D-to-GDP ratio was 5.13%, maintaining the world's second-highest level after Israel (6.35% in 2023). The Ministry of Science and ICT said the R&D share of GDP topped 5% for the first time.
By source of funds, government and public funding was 27.7672 trillion won (21.2%), and private and foreign funding was 103.279 trillion won (78.8%). Notably, private and foreign funding surpassed 100 trillion won for the first time. Specifically, private funding was 102.875 trillion won and foreign funding was 404 billion won.
By performing entity, corporations accounted for the largest share at 106.6988 trillion won (81.4%), followed by public research institutes at 13.2936 trillion won (10.1%) and universities at 11.0538 trillion won (8.4%).
By stage of research and development, development research accounted for the largest share at 86.496 trillion won (66.0%). It was followed by applied research at 25.2812 trillion won (19.3%) and basic research at 19.269 trillion won (14.7%). The increase was also largest in development research. Compared with a year earlier, development research rose 11.1% (8.6376 trillion won), basic research 8.6% (1.5286 trillion won), and applied research 7.7% (1.806 trillion won).
On the personnel side, the total number of researchers was 615,063, up 11,497 (1.9%) from the previous year. The research and development workforce, including research assistants, was 839,582, an increase of 11,620 (1.4%).
Women researchers totaled 148,922, and their share of all researchers continued to rise, from 23.0% in 2022 to 23.7% in 2023 and 24.2% in 2024.
The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) researchers, reflecting participation rates, was 503,346, up 13,090 (2.7%) from a year earlier. On an FTE basis, there were 17.6 researchers per 1,000 employed persons and 9.8 per 1,000 people, and the report also assessed Korea as No. 1 in the world on these indicators.
By performing entity, the number of researchers was 447,351 (72.7%) at corporations, 120,974 (19.7%) at universities, and 46,738 (7.6%) at public research institutes. By degree, there were 130,626 Ph.D.s (21.2%), 172,188 master's degree holders (28.0%), 284,597 bachelor's degree holders (46.3%), and 27,652 others (4.5%).
By type of corporation, research and development spending was largest at large corporations with 71.4808 trillion won (67.0%), followed by mid-tier corporations with 14.2834 trillion won (13.4%), venture corporations with 12.3533 trillion won (11.6%), and small and medium-sized corporations with 8.5813 trillion won (8.0%).
The number of researchers was 149,858 (33.5%) at large corporations, 105,237 (23.5%) at small and medium-sized corporations, 120,657 (27.0%) at venture corporations, and 71,599 (16.0%) at mid-tier corporations.
In particular, research and development spending and the number of researchers rose sharply at the top 10 corporations by sales. Their R&D spending increased by 14.2545 trillion won, from 35.8721 trillion won in 2023 to 50.1266 trillion won in 2024, and their researcher headcount rose by 9,455, from 70,167 to 79,622.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said the survey results are provided to the OECD and used as comparative data on research and development activities across countries. The survey report will be distributed in Feb. 2026 through the websites of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP).