newsbytes@clarinet.com (02/04/90)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, 1990 FEB 2 (NB) -- The South Korean government plans to boost its already considerable investment in science and technology by a further $55 billion in the period to 1996. The country's standing as one of the leading "Young Tigers" of East Asia is largely due to the government's past material as well as moral encouragement of research and development, epitomized by its involvement in KAIST, the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. South Korea is widely seen in the region as treading closely on the heels of Japan in its quest for world leadership in the development, manufacture and export of high technology goods. The Economic Planning Board claims that by 1996 the rate of investment will amount to 4 percent of the gross national product. Last year the figure was 2.4 percent. Like several other Asian countries, notably Hongkong, Singapore and Taiwan, South Korea is becoming increasingly involved in biotechnology. It is likely that a fair proportion of the money now being committed will go toward further explorations in that field as well as other leading edge technologies. (Norman Wingrove/19900203)