South Korea

Summary
South Korea exhibits a stable and relatively low level of digital dependence with an overall DDI value of 0.57 in 2023. In comparison, South Korea stands out for its significantly lower values for ICT patents (0.87 in 2023) and its decreasing dependence on foreign platforms (0.91 in 2010 to 0.80 in 2023). Korean dependence on trade in ICT goods (0.32 in 2023) and trade in ICT services, with the latter showing a downward trend from 0.54 in 2010 to 0.46 in 2023, is also comparatively low. Furthermore, South Korea demonstrates very low bilateral dependence on both US-American ICT goods (0.29 in 2023) as well as on Chinese ones (0.35 in 2023).

Policies
Since 2020, South Korea has introduced multiple policies to secure critical technology supply chains and strengthen domestic capacities. In 2020, the government announced its intention to achieve “technological self-reliance” by promoting the domestic production of semiconductors, hardware, and software. “Resilience” was added to the core strategic pillars in 2024, which South Korea understands as ICT supply chain security as well as critical infrastructure protection.