The Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Games have started on 8 February. We take this opportunity to focus the South Korean economy.
As a member country of the OECD since 2016, with a GDP of $1,411 billion during that year, and with an average economic growth of 3% per year for the past 10 years, South Korea is the 11th economy in the world.
It is driven by high tech sectors: 40% in the total worldwide market of liquid crystal displays, 25% in the worldwide mobile telephony market and a strong growth in infrastructures (transport, energy) and engineering.
It is also a nation of innovation and intellectual property, ranked the world’s most innovative country according to Bloomberg. This is particularly due to the number of patent applications and the importance of its R&D, since South Korea invests 4.2% of its GDP in R&D (while 2.2% in France).
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) is among the 5 IP Offices which receive the highest number of patent applications worldwide. It has set up a special anti-counterfeiting police unit. This way, KIPO has the possibility to seize fake goods and support the IP rights owners.
Do you want to develop your activities in South Korea? To find a local licensee for the production and/or the monetization of your innovative technologies? Would you like to know more about how to protect your inventions in this country? Please contact our team or our partner’s BRANDON IP: www.groupebrandon.com
References: INPI, Bloomberg, the Ministry of Economy and Finance
