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Korea's research and development investment increased about 26,000 times between 1963 and 2007, from W1.2 billion to W31.3 trillion (US$1=W1,396). The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Thursday said R&D investment had increased every year except 1998, in the immediate aftermath of the Asian crisis.
The figures are based on analysis of the total R&D investment by both the government and the private sector.
In terms of the total national R&D spending in 2007, Korea ranked seventh in the world with US$33.7 billion, after the U.S. ($343.8 billion), Japan ($148.5 billion), Germany ($73.8 billion), France ($47.5 billion), the U.K. ($42.7 billion) and China ($37.7 billion). In terms of the ratio of R&D spending to GDP, Korea ranked third after Israel and Sweden at 3.47 percent.
As key achievements, the ministry cited 64k DRAM in 1983, the Alpha engine for automobiles in 1991, the world's first commercialization of CDMA in 1994, construction of Pohang Light Source (PLS) in 1994, of a nuclear power plant with homegrown technology in 1998, and of the FINEX process replacing the blast furnace method in 2007.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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