• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.77-108
• /
• 1992

Many economists and policymakers regard the ratio of R&D investment to GNP to be a good indicator of a nation's technological capabilities. Consequently, their major policy recommendation to promote technological development is a rapid expansion in R&D investment. However, a low R&D ratio does not necessarily mean less efforts at technological advancement since the composition of technologies to be developed varies depending upon the stage of economic development. Technology policy to improve the international competitiveness of domestic industries should be based on the stage of economic development and present technological status rather than on a simple comparison with advanced countries. At Korea's stage of development, maximizing the efficiency of R&D investment is more important than enlarging the size of the investment. Strategic alliances between domestic firms and foreign enterprises should be encouraged to save time and costs involved in acquiring new technologies and learning how to use them. The government should establish institutional devices to stimulate private enterprises to internationalize their business activities such as R&D, production, and marketing. The government should also promote the development of domestic and international R&D networks, which can serve as the infrastructure for technological innovations.

• International Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2018

This study examines the history of Korean aviation industry and presents the investment strategy based on the evidence and the 4th industrial revolution. Looking at the evolution of the Korean aviation industry and its technological development will be a great help to support industrial and technological innovation in the future. The modern aviation industry is divided into stages of development, focusing on maintenance of equipment introduced in advanced countries, localization through license assembly, production of products based on technology, and international joint development. The development of aeronautics technology has been progressing towards a general improvement of economic efficiency, aircraft safety efficiency through environmental-friendliness, unmanned operation, and downsizing. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute has secured key technologies through development of several aircrafts such as Experimental Aircraft Kachi, EXPO Unmanned Airship, Twin-engine Composite Aircraft, Canard Aircraft, Multi-Purpose Stratosphere unmanned-airship, Medium Aerostats, Smart UAV, Surion, EAV-2H, KC-100, and OPV. The development strategy is discussed at the level of the evidence-based investment strategy that is currently being discussed, and so the investment priorities in aircraft is high. Current drone usage and development direction are not only producing parts using 3D printer, but also autonomous flight, communication (IoT, 5G), information processing (big data, machine learning). Therefore, the aviation industry is expected to lead the fourth industrial revolution.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.215-236
• /
• 2003

According to Gerschenkron (1962), the industrialization of relative backward countries was characterized in a systematically varying fashion by sudden spurts. With respect to the technological loaming, its globalization, and the subsequent development of technological capability, Korea, a catching-up nation had some experiences of identifiable discontinuities in her technological development in various industries. This study examines a developmental path of technological catching-up in Korean mobile telecommunication, especially CDMA industry and argues that investment and networking capability play an infrastructural role in accumulating her technological capability. Note that the technological experiences in high-tech industries have made Korea take a different technological path with respect to the previous industrialization. For this purpose, it proposes an analytical framework for examining a developmental path of Korean catching-up players. In addition, it analyzes the case of the Korean mobile telecommunication industry on the basis of the framework, and identifies a developmental path from the case analysis.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.115-131
• /
• 2014

This study analyzed the impact of the investment of venture capital firms(VCFs) on the technological advancement of SMEs, which could be represented as the numerical increasement of patents. The results of this study are as follows: the higher proportion of VCFs' shares or the higher intensity of R&D, the more positive impact has been shown in the technological advancement of SMEs. Also, the joint investment of VCFs or the leading investors' stock acquirement had a positive impact on the technological improvement of them. Meanwhile, the meaningful relationships of company-size and the technical manpower with technological development were not identified although they were marginally positive. Those could be interpreted that the VCFs' supervision and control, including their managerial and technical advice, over invested companies display effectiveness for SMEs. It could also be interpreted that investors concentrate their investment on the relatively stable companies or the companies which other investors already finished screening.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.358-365
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of government investment in the deployment and technological development of three technological areas - wind power, photovoltaic and fuel cell - of renewable energy in Korea using the DEA (data envelopment analysis). The efficiencies of government investment in renewable energies are measured and compared among three kinds of technologies using the actual data during 2007~2009. In the present DEA model, R&D investment and government subsidies for renewable energy usage promotion are selected as input variables, and the number of patents, supply level, and the production cost as output variable. As a result, it is found that the wind power is the most efficient renewable energy in Korea in the perspective of the efficiency of government investment.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.38
• /
• pp.37-59
• /
• 1988

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the technological changes on locational changes on the assumption that technological changes cover over all industrial sectors. The study is carred on 1) To investigate the theoretical backgrounds of the technological and locational changes and their problems. 2) To investigate the location and economic characteristics of the Korean textile industry. 3) To investigate the technological development and regional variations in technological level. 4) To the relationship of the technological change to the location of the textile industries. The locational change of the Korean textile industries have been closely related to economic characteristics. In the begining stage of development in the 1950's, thetextile industries were largely concentrated in the major cities(Seoul, Pusan, Taegu, Masan et. al.). In the growing stage of development in the 1960's, the textile industries were relocated in suburban areas with the trend of large corporations building their branch plants of chemical fibers in the suburbs. With the expansion in the export industry in the 1970's, the textile companies were distributed throughout the whole country. But the research and development(R&D) activities caused the textile industries reconcentrate around Seoul and Pusan, owining to the change of the economic environments in the 1980's. The 1980's have witnessed the increased R&D investment for the development of better new and value-added products. This was because the technological level was much higher than that of Taegu and Other regions. What is more, plant birth location and branch plant location support that locational changes of textile industry were caused by technological changes. Plant birth location put stress technological environments of region, compared with branch plant locaiton. Accordingly, the technological changes of industry can be an important factor in locational changes. Through this study, it can be seen that locational changes come from technological changes. Other locational factors influence the industrial locations, but regional variations in technological level which has been relatively ignored has to be considered on the location study. Together with the accomplishments of existing location study, the study on technological change and location can better explain the location phenomena. And further research on technological change and location can provide better policy implications for regional development.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.1-30
• /
• 2019

The advent of digitalisation has transformed economies into more integrated, but increasingly complex systems. This new trend has brought dynamic changes in the manufacturing sector through advanced ICT infrastructure, smart factories, digitally-controlled logistics, and skilled ICT-labour. The impacts of the digital economy on manufacturing could be best illustrated through "Industry 4.0." With this wave of technological advancement, countries aim to establish an industrial ecosystem where every manufacturing process and function is connected and interacts through digital networks. Industry 4.0 presents opportunities for Emerging Asia, as the region has emerged as a fast-growing manufacturing hub and particularly a production base for ICT goods. However, growing production capacity, increased exports, and increases in FDI in the field of ICT goods manufacturing have so far contributed little to the development and diffusion of ICT. A huge gap exists in the ICT uptake amongst countries and between small and large firms. This paper highlights the level of Industry 4.0 readiness of Emerging Asia and key factors that determine its enhancement.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.174-200
• /
• 2002

Technological capabilities of POSCO (Pohang Iron & Steel Co.) have been developed through acquisition, catch-up, and generation stage. In 1970s standardized operation technologies were acquired based on Japan's technological cooperation. The prime route of technological acquisition was overseas training and operation technologies were articulated by mock and real operation. In 1980s POSCO focused to catch-up advanced technologies through in-house R&D activities. Technological informations were broadly accumulated, task force teams were constructed for important technological tasks, and the scope of technological innovation covered nearly all fields. In 1990s POSCO launched long-term projects based on the large-scale investment and challenged the new fronts of steel technologies. Frontier technologies such as smelting reduction and thin slab casting were early commercialized and new technological concepts were emerged. In conclusion, this article suggests some implications on the development of technological capabilities in Korea.

• New & Renewable Energy
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.72-84
• /
• 2022

As the threat of climate change escalates, 'net-zero' has become a priority for the international community, and the use of new and renewable energy sources is expected to play a significant role in reaching international carbon neutrality. Here, we evaluate technological competitiveness in terms of implementation and technology by analyzing scientific literature and patents in the new and renewable energy fields of five major countries. For the past 10 years (2009-2019), the most active areas of new and renewable energy research and development have been solar power, wind power, waste, and fuel cells. China is the forerunner in implementation, whereas the United States has the most advanced technology. Portfolio analysis revealed that Korea's fuel cell, the United States' bioenergy, China's waste, Japan's solar and fuel cell, and the European Union's wind power have shown to be in Star Field respectively. Technological competitiveness analysis found that Korea is lagging behind other countries in the new and renewable energy sector, and needs to set a new direction for future carbon-neutral research and development, investment, and policy.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.1-21
• /
• 2007

Among numerous policy influencers' and researchers' advices and policy suggestions, there is little opposition to the proposition that technology is essential to the economic development. The role of technology has never been more emphasized than today in Korea as in any other countries. The effects of the government's innovation policy on corporate R&D activities and more broadly the economic welfare of a whole nation are widely recognized with intuitional and empirical evidence. That is, various R&D incentives reduce the marginal cost of a firm's R&D efforts, inducing as much increase of its R&D investment to result in a better chance to acquire target technology. This paper examines the impact of R&D incentives on the technological outcomes by analyzing individual firms' investment behaviors subject to the government's R&D incentive policies. An econometric model of technological outcomes is estimated on a project level with cross-sectional data. "Probit model" is employed for estimations. Special attention was given to the effectiveness of R&D programs by estimating policy impact by types of investment. The data were collected from 928 different R&D projects completed between 1987 and 1993. With the single equation approach, we were able to find that the structure of investment is a far more significant factor in technological outcomes than the total amount of investment. The analysis also shows that the two types of firms' matching investment, in-kind and cash, do not bear a complementary, but a substitutive relations to each other. It also reconfirms the proposition that R&D incentives increase firm's financial investment. Despite many supportive studies emphasizing the cooperation between innovation performers, it is also found that the larger the number of institutions involved in a project, the less likely it leads to a technological success, And meeting the proposed deadlines without postponing is estimated to be a good barometer to predict the outcome of an R&D project. Also the probabilities of success for major variables are represented for policy implications, after calculating marginal effects.