Domestic information and communications technology (ICT) companies increased their 2023 research and development (R&D) investment by 7.4% year-on-year to KRW 56.8 trillion.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Yoo Sang-im, hereinafter referred to as MSIT) analyzed data from 17,104 information and communication technology companies among 68,096 institutions that participated in the R&D activity survey hosted by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) and announced the R&D investment amount and R&D personnel status for 2023.

According to this, the number of full-time research and development personnel increased by 3.2% to 227,000.

In particular, research and development expenses in the basic research field are attracting attention with a high growth rate of 15.9%.

In 2023, the research and development expenses of information and communication technology companies will account for approximately 60.2% of the total corporate research and development expenses of KRW 94.3 trillion, and the total increase of KRW 3.9 trillion will account for 80.1% of the total increase in corporate research and development expenses (KRW 4.9 trillion).

It is analyzed that ICT companies have continued to invest in research and development for the development of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and 6th generation mobile communications, despite the difficult environment in which both production (KRW 509.5 trillion, -12.4%) and exports (USD 186.75 billion, -19.9%) are decreasing.

By industry, information and communication broadcasting equipment companies accounted for the largest share at KRW 51.8 trillion (+7.6%).

By research stage, development research was the largest at KRW 40.3 trillion (+5.6%), but the growth rate in basic research was the highest at 15.9%, showing that research on next-generation computing and AI algorithms is actively underway.

By type of business, large corporations showed the largest increase in R&D spending at KRW 46 trillion (+9.1%), while venture businesses also increased to KRW 5.2 trillion (+6.7%).

On the other hand, the research and development expenses of small and medium-sized enterprises temporarily decreased to KRW 2.3 trillion (-11%) due to a decrease in the number of companies responding to the survey.

As of 2023, the number of R&D personnel working full-time is 227,000, an increase of approximately 6,900 from the previous year.

Among these, researchers accounted for the largest proportion at 196,000 (+2.6%), and research assistants also increased significantly to 21,800 (+10.4%).

By industry, the information and communication broadcasting equipment industry had the largest number at 156,800 (+4.3%), followed by software development and manufacturing and information and communication broadcasting services.

Park Tae-wan, the director general for information and communications industry policy, emphasized, “ICT companies are leading the digital transformation by actively investing in AI and 6th generation mobile communications,” and “the government will also work with the private sector to maximize the effectiveness of R&D investments and strengthen the nation’s digital competitiveness.”

These statistics will be disclosed to the general public through the National Statistical Portal (http://kosis.kr) and the Information and Communication Statistics Portal (http://www.itstat.go.kr).