South Korea holds global prowess in nine core technologies, but it still lags behind other advanced nations in terms of the overall technological competitiveness, a report showed Thursday.
According to the report by the Korea Institute of Industrial Evaluation and Planning, South Korea currently retains the world's No. 1 status in six technologies in the electrical and electronics industries, two in the information technology sector and one in machinery.
The number, however, compares with 488 held by the United States and 281 by Japan, the report noted. The report is based on a survey of 9,000 industrial experts between January and October this year. For its technological competitiveness, South Korea received an average 76.8 points out of 100, ranking sixth among the countries surveyed, up two notches from a 2002 report. The U.S. came first with 93.9, followed by Japan and three European countries each receiving around 90.
The report said South Korea lags about five years behind the top-ranking U.S. in terms of the level of technological development, compared with 5.8 years recorded four years earlier.
"South Korea enjoyed a rapid technological advance in the 1990s but ever-intensifying global competition, the emergence of China and other developing countries lead to a slowdown in the growth pace," an institute official said.
South Korea's technological level was estimated at 82 percent of the U.S, the report showed. The corresponding figure against Japan is 85 percent and China is catching up with its technologic level reaching 80 percent of South Korea, up from 72 percent in the 2002 report.
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap)
S. Korea lags 5 years behind advanced nations in technological development: report |
