S. Korea's corporate R&D to inch up this year: poll

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean companies' spending on research and
development (R&D) is likely to rise slightly in 2009 from the previous year
despite an overall economic slump, a poll showed Monday.

Local companies are expected to spend a total of 27.6 trillion won (US$18.3
billion) on R&D this year, up 2 percent from 2008, according to the survey of 700
companies conducted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
"Many companies replied that they have plans to increase R&D to ensure continued
growth in the long run," a ministry official said.
The expected increase in R&D outlays comes amid a deepening slump of the Korean
economy, Asia's fourth-largest. Hit by plunging exports and anemic domestic
demand, the economy is widely expected to contract this year from the previous
year.
The ministry, meanwhile, said companies moved steadily to hire more researchers
in 2008, with the total reaching 200,456, or a solid gain of 8 percent on-year.
For 2009, the companies surveyed said they wanted to hire 19,189 new researchers
with small and medium enterprises accounting for 68.5 percent of the total.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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