S. Korea ranks 12th in science technology capability in OECD: report

By Lee Joon-seung

SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's science and technology capability ranked 12th among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members, a government report said Sunday.

The report by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the
country's Composite Science and Technology Innovation Index (COSTII) ranking for
2008 remained unchanged from last year with total points received moving up to
11.24 out of a possible 31.
This is a gain from 10.96 points received in 2007 and higher than the 10.09
points average for the Paris-based organization of 30 leading industrialized
countries.
The index, created by the ministry in 2006 is designed to keep tabs on where the
country stands in scientific competitiveness, and uses data similar to that
compiled by the OECD, the Switzerland-based International Institute of Management
and Development and the World Economic Forum.
COSTII measures competitiveness in terms of manpower, research and development
(R&D), networking, overall work environment and results.
The report said the country ranked third in the size of R&D compared to the gross
domestic product, and came in ninth in terms of return on investment.
In added the country stood at 12th place in the number of researchers and their
quality, but trailed other countries in the area of international cooperation and
networking as well as social infrastructure support including intellectual
property right protection.
The ministry report, meanwhile, placed the United States at the top with 21.01
points, followed by Switzerland and Japan at 15.72 and 14.34 points respectively.
Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark made the
top 10, with Britain coming in 11th place.