S. Korea 6th in national innovation: report

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's innovation ranking climbed sharply mainly
due to its advanced knowledge-based industries and overall improvement in
business competitiveness, an international report showed Wednesday.

According to the annual report compiled by Insead, a Paris-based business school,
South Korea's global innovation index ranked sixth out of 130 countries, up from
the previous year's 19th. South Korea was the second-most innovative Asian
country following Singapore, which ranked fifth.
The index is based on assessments in eight major categories, including innovation
in government polices, social infrastructure, technology, knowledge-based
industries and market systems.
The United States remained the world's most innovative economy, followed by
Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the report showed.
Of Asian countries, Japan ranked ninth, five notches lower than the previous
year, while China came in at 37th, down eight steps over the same period.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)