Page 1
Building an IT Economy: South Korean Science and Technology Policy 1 Building an IT Economy: South Korean Science and Technology Policy Joel R. Campbell, Troy University E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y nderlying Korea’s remarkable post-1961 economic development has been the development of a strong science and technology capacity. During the authoritarian regimes (1961-1988), the state created a rudimentary research capacity, primarily focused on creation of government-run research institutions, a technical university, and a central research park, as the private sector gradually began to muster its own applied research capacity. The late 1980s to late-1990s saw a change of direction, as Korea’s chaebol conglomerates became the lead actors in R&D. The well-funded National S&T Technology Program became the focus of state efforts, later superseded by the 21st Century Frontier Program and specified research funds. By the turn of the century, Korea had achieved strong aggregate performance in terms of numbers of researchers and funds spent on R&D, and has continued to build on that for the past decade. The IT industry and, to a lesser extent, biotech have become the major drivers of technological development. The shift from the old industrial to new high tech economy facilitated a recasting of national efforts. A refocused state helped midwife the nascent IT sector, through a combination of privatization of the national telephone service provider, creation of infrastructure, and dispute moderation. Even so, recent doubts about Korea’s overall IT competitiveness have arisen. Meanwhile, since the mid-1990s, Korean policymakers have been captivated by the possibilities of “Big Science,” i.e., basic or foundational science. Korea participates in various international basic science programs, and has created another big state funding effort (the 577 program) to support basic science. The government has spent much policy effort on drafting “visions” of future technological development, but its technological future may depend on maintenance of economic competitiveness