As part of the Slovakia–Korea Knowledge Sharing Program 2024/25, organized by the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA) in cooperation with the Korea Development Institute (KDI), we had the opportunity to travel to Korea. The goal was not only to admire the success but, above all, to understand the principles behind it and to explore ways to adapt them to the Slovak environment.
Strategic thinking
Innovation in South Korea is no accident. It is the result of long-term strategic planning, infrastructure development, and strong collaboration between the public and private sectors. The state does not play a passive role here but actively coordinates and connects universities, startups, and local governments.
Vladimír Tanistrák, Chief State Adviser in the Strategy Department at the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, points out that Korea’s success is largely due to strong coordination between the government and businesses, especially in the fields of technology, energy, and export-oriented manufacturing.
“From a historical perspective, one can see the firm hand of the state in decision-making — the so-called top-down approach. Unlike Korea, Slovakia lacks a strong structure of large domestically owned companies, so applying the Korean model of coordination between government and businesses would be very challenging,” adds Tanistrák.
Katarína Augustini, Director General of the Strategy Section at the Ministry of Economy, adds that Korean success is driven by a hardworking and agile approach — a quality Slovakia also possesses but needs to utilize more effectively.
Collaboration and investment in human capital
Peter Goliaš from the Institute for Strategies and Analysis (ISA) highlights the unique cooperation between the academic, private, and public sectors, especially in supporting startup entrepreneurs. South Korea has built a strong infrastructure that provides financial, legal, and analytical services, as well as tax and financial incentives. Slovakia currently lacks such systemic support at the university level, which presents a significant opportunity for improvement.
Like Korea, Slovakia cannot rely on natural resources.“As our Korean partners told us, if they had to choose one thing that was the key to their prosperity, it would be investments in human capital through systematic support of science, research, and innovation,” explains Goliaš.
What did we see in South Korea?
We visited leading institutions such as KAIST, Startup Village, Incheon Technopark, Yonsei University, Celltrion, and the Korea Hydrogen Alliance. Each of these places focuses on a different area — from smart cities to biotechnology — yet they all share one thing: connectivity.
Startups collaborate with universities, universities work with companies, companies cooperate with cities, and cities coordinate with the state. The result is faster innovation, more effective application of research in practice, and higher competitiveness.
Anna Čaplovičová, Executive Director of INOVATO, emphasizes that Korea built a functional system practically from scratch and today ranks among the world leaders in innovation and technology. The state plays a key role and makes many decisions from the top down, maintaining a strongly centralized approach. Combined with the mentality, hard work, and emphasis on education, this created a very strong foundation for development.
Our different cultural and social environment does not allow us to transfer everything from their approach to our conditions. “But what I would most like to bring to Slovakia is their ability to set clear priorities and support them long-term — regardless of who is in power. Such cohesion and continuity would greatly benefit our companies, researchers, and the entire economy,” Čaplovičová says.
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Slovakia has potential but lacks a system
Slovakia has talented people, technical universities, research centers, and startups. The problem, however, is a lack of stability and coordination. Currently, we invest only 1.04% of GDP in research and development — less than a quarter of what Korea invests. Political changes often interrupt development plans, and the connections between research, business, and the public sector are weak and ineffective.
Peter Goliaš explains that immediate military threats lead to a significant increase in spending on research and development, which is one of the objective factors behind Korea’s success, similar to Israel. Another important element is the existence of national champions — globally successful companies that invest huge resources in innovation to maintain their competitiveness.
Such companies are missing in Slovakia, so we have mostly adopted innovations from abroad. The third key factor is a purposeful government policy that systematically supports the development of human capital as the foundation of future growth in Korea — and this is what we should follow.
What can Slovakia improve?
Vladimír Tanistrák points out that when observing the functioning of institutions like the KDI, he sees a real potential to create a similar organization in Slovakia that would support analytical and long-term strategy.
Although some analytical tasks are already handled by a few units within ministries, he sees significant potential in the Institute of Strategic Analysis at the Government Office. Centralizing these activities into a single institution similar to the KDI could greatly improve strategic planning and public policy development.
However, without broad political acceptance and support for long-term planning free from political interference, the potential benefits will remain limited. “Supporting long-term and visionary projects in Slovakia requires not only institutional reforms but also a change in political culture. South Korea’s ability to successfully implement long-term strategies, for example through the KDI, stems from continuity and a technocratic approach,” Tanistrák adds.
Slovakia, however, struggles with high turnover in public administration caused by frequent political changes. These lead to a loss of continuity and so-called “bureaucratic memory.” This situation significantly weakens the ability to effectively carry out long-term strategic planning.
How to create an innovation environment that survives electoral cycles?
In South Korea, we fully realized that if we want to support long-term and visionary projects, enthusiasm alone is not enough — we need a clear vision and stable direction. Especially in areas like deep tech, green technologies, and biotechnology. These sectors hold immense potential to shape the future — to drive economic growth, create new jobs, and contribute to sustainability.
What stood out the most from the Korean approach was one thing: the system is key. Supporting research and development isn’t just about funding (although they invest heavily), but mainly about connection — between science, practice, and business. Everything works as a well-designed ecosystem. Research institutions aren’t isolated — they work closely with companies that can quickly turn new knowledge into products, services, or technologies.
If we want to stay competitive and bring our own solutions to the table, we have to follow a similar path. We need more public investment in research — but most importantly, a system that connects the right people and institutions. Because only then can good ideas turn into real innovation.
Excellence, not average
One of the things that deeply resonated with us in South Korea was the question of how to evaluate results. If we truly want to move forward, rewarding the average is not enough. We need to start valuing excellence more — people and projects that go above and beyond, bring breakthrough ideas, and push boundaries. These are the driving forces that move a country forward.
At the same time, it’s important to understand that progress doesn’t happen without risk. Mistakes and failures are simply part of the process. The Korean approach showed us that without space for experimentation and the occasional stumble, nothing truly new or valuable can emerge.
If we create a system that supports exceptional people, embraces failure as part of learning, and focuses on long-term planning, we can build an environment in Slovakia where innovation becomes a natural part of development and competitiveness.
The Knowledge Sharing Program 2024/25 is an annual project implemented by the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency in cooperation with the Korea Development Institute. It focuses on exchanging experiences in areas such as regional disparities in innovation performance, the role of regional institutions, and digital and green transformation. The project includes visits of Korean experts to Slovakia (December 2024, March 2025) and Slovak representatives to South Korea (May 2025), culminating in a presentation of recommendations for improving the innovation environment in Slovakia in June 2025. This bilateral consulting program is supported by the South Korean Ministry of Economy and enables active cooperation and mutual knowledge exchange between the two countries.
Text: Natália Stašíková
Photo: INOVATO
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