Annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies in South Korea
South Korea: Annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies was 9 patents in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies in South Korea, 2000–2025
Source: IRENA – INSPIRE Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in patents.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 9 patents for annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 85.9% on the previous year and down 98.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies in South Korea peaked at 1,092 patents in 2020 and was at its lowest, 9 patents, in 2025.
South Korea ranks 9th of 53 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies in South Korea, year by year
| Year | patents | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 79 patents | — |
| 2001 | 85 patents | +7.6% |
| 2002 | 85 patents | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 133 patents | +56.5% |
| 2004 | 91 patents | -31.6% |
| 2005 | 137 patents | +50.5% |
| 2006 | 260 patents | +89.8% |
| 2007 | 325 patents | +25.0% |
| 2008 | 355 patents | +9.2% |
| 2009 | 334 patents | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 456 patents | +36.5% |
| 2011 | 571 patents | +25.2% |
| 2012 | 611 patents | +7.0% |
| 2013 | 659 patents | +7.9% |
| 2014 | 799 patents | +21.2% |
| 2015 | 710 patents | -11.1% |
| 2016 | 881 patents | +24.1% |
| 2017 | 901 patents | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 919 patents | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 1,016 patents | +10.6% |
| 2020 | 1,092 patents | +7.5% |
| 2021 | 860 patents | -21.2% |
| 2022 | 683 patents | -20.6% |
| 2023 | 472 patents | -30.9% |
| 2024 | 64 patents | -86.4% |
| 2025 | 9 patents | -85.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 9 patents is above the median for high income countries, which is 2 patents, 4.5× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 9 patents is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5 patents, 1.8× the median. (9 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 188.4 patents | 79 patents | 355 patents | 10 |
| 2010s | 752.3 patents | 456 patents | 1,016 patents | 10 |
| 2020s | 530 patents | 9 patents | 1,092 patents | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More science & technology data for South Korea
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 172.52 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.72 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 89.22 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 859.55 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 6.42 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 6.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 71,724 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0014 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies in South Korea?
- Annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies in South Korea was 9 patents in 2025, according to IRENA – INSPIRE Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1,092 patents in 2020.
- What is the lowest annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 9 patents in 2025.
- How does South Korea rank for annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies?
- South Korea ranks 9th out of 53 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 98.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from IRENA – INSPIRE Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual patents filed for electric vehicle technologies. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Figures in recent years are subject to a time lag; submitted patents may not yet be reflected in the data.