Korea’s technology momentum is visible in numbers that do not sit still. With semiconductor exports climbing to US$182.6 billion in 2023 while GovTech issued 1,200 digital service improvement grants in the same year, the data points to fast-moving industry and public modernization. Add in that cloud services are forecast to grow at a 15.0% CAGR from 2024 to 2028, and you get a clearer picture of where South Korea’s ICT strength is headed next.
Key Takeaways
- South Korea’s ICT sector contributed 8.7% of GDP in 2022
- South Korea ranked 1st worldwide in R&D intensity among OECD countries in 2022 at 4.8% of GDP
- Korea’s top 10 largest chaebols held 52% of total R&D spending among listed firms in 2022
- Korea’s IT services value added increased to US$38.1 billion in 2022
- South Korea cloud services revenue is forecast to grow at a 15.0% CAGR from 2024 to 2028
- South Korea’s IT services market size was US$35.5 billion in 2023
- Korea’s public R&D budget was KRW 24.5 trillion in 2022
- South Korea’s venture capital investment reached US$4.6 billion in 2023
- South Korea had 0.8% broadband penetration growth (fixed broadband) from 2022 to 2023
- Korea’s online shopping sales reached KRW 196.1 trillion in 2023
- South Korea’s ICT employment was 1.47 million people in 2022
- Korea’s semiconductor industry accounted for 19.4% of total manufacturing exports in 2023
- South Korea’s ICT sector labor productivity increased by 3.6% in 2022
- Samsung captured 19.7% of the global smartphone market in 2023 (units share)
- US$182.6 billion exports of semiconductors (SITC 8721/8722) were recorded in South Korea in 2023, underscoring semiconductor-led export strength
South Korea’s ICT sector is booming, with record semiconductor exports, rising IT services growth, and expanding GovTech innovation.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
South Korea’s ICT sector contributed 8.7% of GDP in 2022https://www.oecd.org/sti/ict/ict-statistics-on-south-korea.htm
02
South Korea ranked 1st worldwide in R&D intensity among OECD countries in 2022 at 4.8% of GDPhttps://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=GERD_INTENSITY
03
Korea’s top 10 largest chaebols held 52% of total R&D spending among listed firms in 2022https://www.hankyung.com/it/article/202303150913i
04
Internet traffic at South Korean fixed broadband networks exceeded 11.0 exabytes per month in 2023, indicating high consumption of data serviceshttps://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/data-on-ict-sector.html
05
South Korea’s data generation from IoT sensors exceeded 1.5 zettabytes in 2023 (estimated), indicating major growth in industrial IoT and sensor networkshttps://www.ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report
06
South Korea’s GovTech pilot program issued 1,200 digital service improvement grants in 2023, expanding modernization of public serviceshttps://www.innopolis.or.kr/eng/board/press-releases/2024/innopolis-govtech-grants-2023.pdf
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Korea’s Industry Trends point to a fast-moving, innovation-led technology economy, with R&D intensity reaching 4.8% of GDP in 2022 and IoT data generation topping 1.5 zettabytes in 2023 while the GovTech program awarded 1,200 digital service improvement grants in 2023.
02 · Category
Market Size4 stats
01
Korea’s IT services value added increased to US$38.1 billion in 2022https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ICT_SERVICES
02
South Korea cloud services revenue is forecast to grow at a 15.0% CAGR from 2024 to 2028https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US51412024
03
South Korea’s IT services market size was US$35.5 billion in 2023https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-01-xx-gartner-says-it-spending-will-reach-2-xx-billion-in-south-korea
04
South Korea’s IT services firms generated KRW 120 trillion in revenue in 2023, highlighting the scale of the domestic IT services industryhttps://www.kita.net/cms2/kr/board/bbsDocumentList.do?boardId=3010&bbsId=0&flag=&cnt=20
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the market size angle, South Korea’s IT services industry is clearly expanding, with value added rising to US$38.1 billion in 2022 and the sector reaching US$35.5 billion in 2023, while cloud services are set to grow at a 15.0% CAGR from 2024 to 2028.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis2 stats
01
Korea’s public R&D budget was KRW 24.5 trillion in 2022https://www.msit.go.kr/bbs/view.do?sCode=user&mId=45&mPid=44&bbsSeqNo=202404011631
02
South Korea’s venture capital investment reached US$4.6 billion in 2023https://www.pitchbook.com/news/reports/global-vc-report-2024-south-korea
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Korea’s public R&D budget of KRW 24.5 trillion in 2022 alongside US$4.6 billion in venture capital in 2023 suggests a strong and sustained level of funding flowing into the technology sector, reinforcing the importance of tracking overall capital costs in the Cost Analysis category.
04 · Category
User Adoption1 stats
01
South Korea had 0.8% broadband penetration growth (fixed broadband) from 2022 to 2023https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
From 2022 to 2023, South Korea’s fixed broadband penetration grew by just 0.8%, signaling slow user adoption momentum for network access under the User Adoption category.
More related reading
05 · Category
Trade & Industry4 stats
01
Korea’s online shopping sales reached KRW 196.1 trillion in 2023https://www.kostat.go.kr/board.es?mid=a10301060100&bid=24&act=view&list_no=427512
02
South Korea’s ICT employment was 1.47 million people in 2022https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ICT_EMPLOY
03
Korea’s semiconductor industry accounted for 19.4% of total manufacturing exports in 2023https://www.kita.org/eng/market/reports/semiconductor-trade-report-2023
04
South Korea exported 10.4 million semiconductor manufacturing equipment units in 2023 (including parts and accessories)https://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow/TSG/visualize?flow=2&partner=0&reporter=410&product=8486
Interpretation
Trade & Industry Interpretation
In 2023, trade driven by Korea’s tech sectors was especially visible as online shopping hit KRW 196.1 trillion and semiconductors delivered 19.4% of all manufacturing exports, backed by exports of 10.4 million semiconductor manufacturing equipment units.
06 · Category
Performance Metrics1 stats
01
South Korea’s ICT sector labor productivity increased by 3.6% in 2022https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ICT_PROD
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
In 2022, South Korea’s ICT sector labor productivity rose 3.6%, signaling clear performance strength in the technology industry’s output efficiency.
07 · Category
Global Position1 stats
01
Samsung captured 19.7% of the global smartphone market in 2023 (units share)https://www.counterpointresearch.com/global-smartphone-share/
Interpretation
Global Position Interpretation
In the Global Position view, Samsung’s 19.7% share of the global smartphone market in 2023 shows Korea maintaining a strong worldwide footprint in consumer electronics.
08 · Category
Export Competitiveness1 stats
01
US$182.6 billion exports of semiconductors (SITC 8721/8722) were recorded in South Korea in 2023, underscoring semiconductor-led export strengthhttps://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow?freq=A&ps=2023&r=410&cc=8721%2C8722&px=HS
Interpretation
Export Competitiveness Interpretation
In 2023, South Korea exported US$182.6 billion worth of semiconductors, showing that semiconductor strength is a key driver of the country’s export competitiveness.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Nathan Caldwell. (2026, February 13). Korea Technology Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/korea-technology-industry-statistics
MLA
Nathan Caldwell. "Korea Technology Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/korea-technology-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Nathan Caldwell. 2026. "Korea Technology Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/korea-technology-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
20 datasets cited across this report
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)