- International families
- 351k9.5% of the world
- All families
- 1.49Mhome filings included
- Taken abroad
- 24%29k triadic
- Growth
- 1.3×2020 to 2024 against the five before
Year by year
Patent families of South Korea origin by the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in.
Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google
Innovation and National Capability
The nine domains of the National Capability Framework, each with the capabilities in which South Korea has the most international patent families, in the period chosen. 2025 is a part year and 2026 has barely begun. Select a capability for its page.
Hard Power
Critical Technology
105k international families
Strategic Infrastructure
78k international families
18,782
18,644
17,449
4,565
4,383
3,594
National Security
1,601 international families
Soft Power
Human Capital
21k international families
Information & Influence
5,604 international families
Governance & Integrity
5,649 international families
Economic Power
Financial Strength
1,682 international families
Production & Innovation
203k international families
Trade & Investment
5,182 international families
Where its patents run deepest
International patent families, 2015 to 2024, in each capability of the National Capability Framework. Share of world is South Korea's part of every country's families in the capability. Leans sets the capability's share of South Korea's families against its share of the world's: 2.0× means twice the world's weight. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.
| 2000 to 2025 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & Advanced Industry | Production & Innovation | 40,578 | 8.1% | 5 of 40 | 0.8× | 1.3× | |
| Production Systems | Strategic Infrastructure | 32,878 | 9.1% | 5 of 40 | 1.0× | 1.2× | |
| Mobile & Wireless Networks | Strategic Infrastructure | 30,496 | 11.7% | 4 of 40 | 1.2× | 1.2× | |
| Advanced Wireless Communication | Critical Technology | 30,111 | 11.8% | 4 of 40 | 1.2× | 1.2× | |
| Foundational & Process Industries | Production & Innovation | 28,513 | 9.1% | 4 of 40 | 1.0× | 1.1× | |
| AI Tools & Applications | Strategic Infrastructure | 27,537 | 12.1% | 4 of 40 | 1.3× | 2.0× | |
| Batteries & Energy Storage | Critical Technology | 26,714 | 22.5% | 2 of 40 | 2.4× | 2.5× | |
| Applied AI & Advanced Analytics | Critical Technology | 22,879 | 11.1% | 4 of 40 | 1.2× | 1.7× | |
| Advanced Semiconductor Fabrication | Critical Technology | 22,064 | 15.7% | 3 of 40 | 1.7× | 1.4× | |
| Service Delivery & Coverage | Human Capital | 18,896 | 7.2% | 4 of 40 | 0.8× | 1.3× | |
| Advanced Packaging & Heterogeneous Integration | Critical Technology | 15,416 | 17.9% | 2 of 40 | 1.9× | 1.7× | |
| Machine Learning & Foundation Models | Critical Technology | 15,108 | 14.0% | 3 of 40 | 1.5× | 3.0× | |
| Physical Health & Longevity | Human Capital | 14,190 | 6.9% | 3 of 40 | 0.7× | 1.3× | |
| Semiconductor Equipment & Materials | Critical Technology | 13,584 | 14.1% | 3 of 40 | 1.5× | 1.6× | |
| Services Economy | Production & Innovation | 11,491 | 13.8% | 3 of 40 | 1.4× | 2.0× | |
| Agrifood & Primary Production | Production & Innovation | 9,737 | 7.6% | 5 of 40 | 0.8× | 1.1× | |
| Digital Economy Adoption | Production & Innovation | 7,828 | 10.6% | 4 of 40 | 1.1× | 1.6× | |
| Data Resources | Strategic Infrastructure | 7,266 | 7.9% | 4 of 40 | 0.8× | 1.4× | |
| Health Infrastructure | Strategic Infrastructure | 6,894 | 8.7% | 4 of 40 | 0.9× | 1.8× | |
| Privacy, Identity & Trust Technologies | Critical Technology | 6,734 | 9.5% | 4 of 40 | 1.0× | 1.2× | |
| Core & Backbone Networks | Strategic Infrastructure | 6,683 | 6.6% | 4 of 40 | 0.7× | 1.1× | |
| Human-Machine Interfaces | Critical Technology | 6,474 | 12.9% | 4 of 40 | 1.4× | 1.1× | |
| International Media & Broadcasting | Information & Influence | 6,383 | 14.7% | 4 of 40 | 1.5× | 1.0× | |
| Policing & Law Enforcement | Governance & Integrity | 6,119 | 10.8% | 4 of 40 | 1.1× | 1.0× | |
| Protective Cybersecurity Technologies | Critical Technology | 6,051 | 7.8% | 4 of 40 | 0.8× | 1.2× |
By domain and applicant
International patent families, 2015 to 2024. A family counts once in each domain it reaches.
Domains of the framework
Critical Technology
Strategic Infrastructure
Human Capital
Information & Influence
Governance & Integrity
Trade & Investment
Financial Strength
National Security
165,722
133,825
36,127
10,840
9,963
7,803
3,270
2,676
Largest applicants
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
LG ELECTRONICS INC
SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO LTD
HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD
KIA MOTORS CORP
KIA CORP
LG ENERGY SOLUTION LTD
LG CHEMICAL LTD
SK HYNIX INC
LG DISPLAY CO LTD
67,422
26,792
22,244
18,522
11,736
11,317
10,378
10,020
8,441
8,425