S. Korea's IT competitiveness ranking falls 3 spots

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's competitiveness in information technology fell three places in the past two years due to a decline in its research and development environment, a report showed Tuesday
South Korea ranked 19th in the IT Industry Competitive Index this year, three notches down on 2009, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
The index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit for BSA, compares 66 countries on how capable they are of supporting a strong IT production sector. No index was produced in 2010.
The United States ranked top as the most innovative country in the IT sector in 2011, followed by Finland, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
South Korea, a country often cited as the most wired with ample broadband access across the country, slipped three places mainly due to fewer IT patents, the report said.
The report added that the quality of South Korea's IT infrastructure and IT human capital remain one of the best in the world and its legal environment is improving.
In 2007, South Korea was the third-most competitive country in the IT sector, but its position plummeted to No. 8 in 2008 and No. 16 in 2009.
The index evaluates the countries based on the six categories of R&D environment, human capital, IT infrastructure, support for IT industry development, legal environment and overall business environment.
Taiwan was ranked No. 13 this year and Japan was No. 16. China took 38th place.