Korea holds fourth place in global innovation index for second year

The Korea Intellectual Property Office said Wednesday that South Korea placed fourth among 139 countries in the 2026 Global Innovation Index, holding the position for a second consecutive year and finishing first in Asia.

Switzerland took the top spot, followed by Sweden, the United States, Korea and Singapore. Britain, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and China completed the top 10, with Japan 12th. Six of the leading 10 economies are European and three are Asian.

The index is compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization with INSEAD and Cornell University, measuring the innovation capacity of member economies across five input areas and two output areas, using 79 indicators. Korea ranked fourth on inputs and sixth on outputs.

The country's strongest showing was in human capital and research, where it has now held first place for eight consecutive years. Its creative output score rose two places to second from fourth a year earlier.

Korea also ranked first worldwide on patent applications and Patent Cooperation Treaty international applications relative to GDP, while corporate research and development spending, research personnel and government online services were assessed at the same level.

Kim Yong-sun, head of the Korea Intellectual Property Office, attributed the result to work by both the public and private sectors. "Being assessed as a world fourth-ranked innovation power again this year, following last year, is the result of research and development capacity and outstanding talent accumulated jointly by the government and the private sector, and of efforts to connect them to intellectual property and innovation outcomes being recognized internationally," he said.

He added that the office would strengthen intellectual property policy so that it serves as a growth engine for all.

Korea fell four places to ninth in market sophistication and two places to sixth in business sophistication. Its institutions ranking dropped to 22nd from 20th, and knowledge inflows fell seven places to 16th.