Gitnux/Report 2026

South Korea Technology Industry Statistics

Korea’s tech picture looks both mature and sharply rising, with a 2023 cloud market that hit $9.2 billion while 46.8% of the population still lacks 5G coverage. The page connects that tension to where money and talent go next, from KRW 24.8 trillion in ICT investment in 2022 to e wallet usage reaching 65.0 million users in 2023.
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May 14, 2026Updated
South Korea Technology Industry Statistics
Julian RichterWritten by Julian Richter·Edited by Lars Eriksen·Fact-checked by Katherine Brennan
Published ·Updated
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South Korea’s IT and digital spending climbed to KRW 9.8 trillion on cybersecurity in 2023 while ICT services exports reached $55.3 billion in 2022, underscoring how fast cloud, connectivity, and security are moving in parallel. Behind that momentum, the sector also shows sharp gaps such as women making up 10.6% of ICT sector employees in 2023 and a cloud adoption rate of 46.0% among ICT-related enterprises. Let’s connect these contrasts to what they mean for Korea’s tech workforce, infrastructure, and growth.

Key Takeaways

  • 10.6% of South Korea’s ICT sector employees were women in 2023, per KSIC ICT worker gender breakdown for Korea
  • Women were 34.2% of ICT specialists in South Korea in 2022 (OECD ICT employment gender data)
  • South Korea had 61.9% of ICT specialists aged 25–34 in 2022 (OECD ICT employment age distribution)
  • 46.0% of ICT-related enterprises in South Korea reported using cloud services in 2023
  • South Korea’s online shopping share of total retail reached 24.1% in 2023 (KOSIS/Statistics Korea online shopping share)
  • South Korea’s e-wallet usage grew to 65.0 million users in 2023 (Korea fintech/financial services statistical release)
  • South Korea’s mobile penetration was 134% in 2022 (ITU mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants)
  • South Korea ranked 14th in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2023 (IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking score)
  • South Korea’s 5G population coverage reached 46.8% in 2022 (ITU 5G coverage indicator)
  • 3.9% of South Korea’s GDP was spent on research and development (R&D) in 2022 (OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators: R&D expenditure as % of GDP)
  • $173.0 billion in South Korea R&D expenditure in 2022 (OECD MSTI: GERD, current USD)
  • South Korea spent 3.4% of GDP on ICT in 2022 (World Bank ICT expenditure indicator / ITU data)
  • South Korea received 140.2 billion USD in venture capital in 2021 (PitchBook global VC by country figure for Korea)
  • South Korea’s number of ICT startups reached 12,400 in 2023 (K-startup / NIPA ICT startup stats)
  • South Korea’s total ICT services exports were $55.3 billion in 2022 (OECD ICT trade indicators)

South Korea is surging in tech with heavy R and D and cloud adoption, while tightening digital and cybersecurity capacity.

Related reading

01 · Category

Workforce Demographics5 stats

01
10.6% of South Korea’s ICT sector employees were women in 2023, per KSIC ICT worker gender breakdown for Koreahttps://www.kisia.or.kr/eng/kor/ictStats/ictStatsList.do?method=info&seq=202406171515240
02
Women were 34.2% of ICT specialists in South Korea in 2022 (OECD ICT employment gender data)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ICT_EMP_GEND
03
South Korea had 61.9% of ICT specialists aged 25–34 in 2022 (OECD ICT employment age distribution)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ICT_EMP_AGE
04
South Korea’s total R&D personnel reached 840,000 in 2022 (OECD MSTI: researchers & R&D personnel)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_RDP
05
South Korea’s researchers per million inhabitants were 8,255 in 2022 (OECD MSTI: researchers)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_RP
Interpretation

Workforce Demographics Interpretation

In South Korea’s ICT workforce, women account for just 10.6% of sector employees in 2023 and 34.2% of ICT specialists in 2022 while the workforce is also comparatively youthful with 61.9% of ICT specialists aged 25 to 34 in 2022, showing that talent is concentrated in younger age groups but gender representation remains a clear demographic gap.

02 · Category

User Adoption3 stats

01
46.0% of ICT-related enterprises in South Korea reported using cloud services in 2023https://www.kita.org/boardDownload.do?boardNo=202&fileName=2024_cloud_use_survey_korea.pdf
02
South Korea’s online shopping share of total retail reached 24.1% in 2023 (KOSIS/Statistics Korea online shopping share)https://kosis.kr/eng/statisticsList/statisticsListIndex.do?menuId=M_01_01
03
South Korea’s e-wallet usage grew to 65.0 million users in 2023 (Korea fintech/financial services statistical release)https://www.fss.or.kr/eng/
Interpretation

User Adoption Interpretation

In 2023, South Korea’s user adoption of digital services surged as 46.0% of ICT enterprises used cloud services, online shopping rose to 24.1% of total retail, and e-wallet adoption reached 65.0 million users.

04 · Category

R&d Investment6 stats

01
3.9% of South Korea’s GDP was spent on research and development (R&D) in 2022 (OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators: R&D expenditure as % of GDP)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MST_RDG
02
$173.0 billion in South Korea R&D expenditure in 2022 (OECD MSTI: GERD, current USD)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_PUB
03
South Korea spent 3.4% of GDP on ICT in 2022 (World Bank ICT expenditure indicator / ITU data)https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS
04
South Korea’s ICT investment was KRW 24.8 trillion in 2022 (Korean Ministry of Science and ICT ICT investment survey)https://www.msit.go.kr/bbs/view.do?sCode=user&mId=45&mPid=44&pageIndex=1&bbsSeqNo=2023-ICT-INVESTMENT
05
Korea’s AI-related investment reached KRW 2.1 trillion in 2023 (Korean MSIT AI investment brief)https://www.msit.go.kr/eng/bbs/view.do?sCode=eng&mId=40&mPid=39&pageIndex=1&bbsSeqNo=202401
06
South Korea’s cybersecurity spending reached KRW 9.8 trillion in 2023 (KISA national cybersecurity budget/estimate)https://www.kisa.or.kr/eng/main.jsp
Interpretation

R&d Investment Interpretation

In 2022 South Korea committed 3.9% of GDP to R&D, reaching $173.0 billion, and by adding rising ICT and AI investment in 2022 and 2023 it shows a clear momentum in funding research and development beyond general spending.

More related reading

05 · Category

Funding & M&a2 stats

01
South Korea received 140.2 billion USD in venture capital in 2021 (PitchBook global VC by country figure for Korea)https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/2022-global-venture-report
02
South Korea’s number of ICT startups reached 12,400 in 2023 (K-startup / NIPA ICT startup stats)https://www.nipa.kr/boardView.do?boardId=data&bbsId=
Interpretation

Funding & M&a Interpretation

In 2021 South Korea drew 140.2 billion USD in venture capital while its ICT startup base grew to 12,400 by 2023, signaling sustained momentum in the Funding and M and A pipeline rather than a slowdown in dealmaking activity.

06 · Category

Market Size10 stats

01
South Korea’s total ICT services exports were $55.3 billion in 2022 (OECD ICT trade indicators)https://www.oecd.org/sti/ict/ict-services-trade-data.htm
02
South Korea’s cloud market reached $9.2 billion in 2023 (Frost & Sullivan estimate reported in press release)https://www.frost.com/frost-perspectives/blog/cloud-market-in-korea-2023/
03
South Korea’s IT services market was $25.6 billion in 2023 (IDC, as cited in IDC Korea market update)https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=KR50348023
04
Samsung Electronics shipped 226.0 million smartphone units in 2023 (IDC worldwide quarterly tracker summary for Samsung)https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS51600023
05
LG Display shipped 1.1 million OLED TV panels in 2023 (company annual report panel shipment disclosure)https://www.lgdisplay.com/ir/annual-report
06
South Korea’s cybersecurity market size was $2.9 billion in 2023 (MarketsandMarkets report cited in press release)https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/cyber-security-market.asp
07
The Korean AI market reached KRW 13.5 trillion in 2023 (Korea NIA/industry report on AI market size)https://www.nia.or.kr/site/nia_kor/board/BD/view.do?mId=1019&bbsId=BS000019
08
South Korea’s data center market is projected to reach $9.7 billion by 2027 (Omdia forecast cited)https://www.omdia.com/resources/insights/omdia-data-centre-market-forecast-south-korea-2024
09
South Korea’s IT exports were $166.4 billion in 2023 (Korea’s IT export statistics from NIPA / MSIT)https://www.nipa.kr/board.do?boardId=data
10
South Korea’s cloud infrastructure spending was KRW 6.3 trillion in 2023 (Korea MSIT cloud market survey)https://www.msit.go.kr/bbs/view.do?sCode=user&mId=40&mPid=39&pageIndex=1&bbsSeqNo=2024-cloud-ict-survey
Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

South Korea’s market is expanding across major tech segments, with cloud alone growing to $9.2 billion in 2023 and the overall IT exports reaching $166.4 billion in 2023, underscoring that demand is broadening far beyond a single area within the market size category.

07 · Category

Performance Metrics1 stats

01
South Korea’s semiconductor revenue per worker was $560,000in 2023 (OECD STAN/industry labor productivity for semiconductors)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=STAN
Interpretation

Performance Metrics Interpretation

In 2023, South Korea generated $560,000 in semiconductor revenue per worker, highlighting strong labor productivity as a key performance metric for the country’s technology industry.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Julian Richter. (2026, February 13). South Korea Technology Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/south-korea-technology-industry-statistics
MLA
Julian Richter. "South Korea Technology Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/south-korea-technology-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Julian Richter. 2026. "South Korea Technology Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/south-korea-technology-industry-statistics.

Sources & references

31 datasets cited across this report

kisia.or.krkita.orgitu.intstats.oecd.orgpitchbook.comoecd.orgfrost.comidc.comlgdisplay.comimd.orgdata.worldbank.orgmarketsandmarkets.comnia.or.krmsit.go.kromdia.comnipa.krkosis.krfss.or.krkisa.or.kr

+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)