South Korean ICT R&D Investments Surge 13.8% in 2024 on AI Boom

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- Investments in research and development (R&D) made by South Korean internet and communication technology (ICT) companies rose in 2024 from a year earlier, due to the artificial intelligence boom, government data showed Wednesday. The combined investments in R&D spent by 17,324 ICT companies came to 64.6 trillion won (US$43.7 billion) in 2024, up 13.8 percent on-year, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The amount accounted for 60.6 percent of all corporate R&D spent in the country for the cited year. The yearly rate of increase was also the steepest in six years, the findings showed. Most of the investments, or 96.6 percent, came from the private sector or overseas. Only 3.4 percent, or 2.2 trillion won, came from the government or the public sector, according to the data. By industry, 92.1 percent of the funding was from ICT firms related to advanced semiconductors, while only 6.4 percent was from software developing companies. Large conglomerates led the investments, with funding from such companies rising 16.3 percent on-year to 53.5 trillion won. Investments from small and medium-sized companies also increased 11.9 percent from 2023, while those from venture firms declined 0.3 percent on-year, the data showed. South Korea's ICT companies added 5,200 more jobs related to R&D in 2024, bringing the total number of people employed in the sector to 225,900. This accounts for 48 percent of all corporate R&D personnel in the country, the ministry pointed out.