Under the rapidily changing world politics and economy, Korea would be reunified even though the unification process is not yet agreed between South and North Korea. No matter what the unification process will be, integration is necessaIY to achieve a...
Under the rapidily changing world politics and economy, Korea would be reunified even though the unification process is not yet agreed between South and North Korea. No matter what the unification process will be, integration is necessaIY to achieve a real unification. Spe-cially the integration in the field of Science and Technology (S&T) is very important because S &T plays critical roles m today's economy.
This paper theoretically examines the workable concept of S&T integration between South and North Korea.
The integratim could be classified three types according to the characteristics of S&T activities and areas. First, the horizontal integration is accomplished between R&D actors focus-ing on similar R&D in similar aFea. This type could be prevent duplicate researches and in-crease the efficiency of R&D actors. Seem1d, the vertical integratuon occurs between R&D actors with different R&D concentration in similar area. It could decrease transaction cost in R &D cycle but increase management cost. Third, the mixed integration occurs between R&D actors with different concentration in different areas. This type could increase not only the au-tonomy and competitiveness of R&D actors but also the management cost. Of all alternative in integration, the mixed type could be pursued deliberateIy as technologies become more comples, complicated, systematic, and fused. Of course, the detailed evaluation and review of the North
Korean innovation system should be carried out before an actua integration process starts. Finally it is worthwhile to keep in mind a few points as policy implications.