[THE INVESTOR] South Korean companies remained reluctant to invest in R&D with a mere increase of 1.9 percent in their combined investment, a local market researcher said on Nov. 30.

In the January-September period, R&D investment made by 154 firms under the country’s top 30 business groups came to 27.1 trillion won (US$23.20 billion), compared to 26.6 trillion won from the same period last year, according to CEO Score.

Out of the 30, 13 groups reported a drop in their overall R&D spending while 16 said their spending increased.

Booyoung, a major construction firm, did not disclose such information, according to the market research firm.

Leading shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering reduced its R&D spending by the largest margin of 24.3 percent on-year over the cited period as the company has been undergoing self-restructuring measures following a record operating loss of 5.5 trillion won last year.

Doosan and Daelim groups came next, slashing R&D spending by 18.9 percent and 15.2 percent on-year, respectively.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)