THE EFFECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – IPRS ON KOREA’S EXPORT TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS

Lee Song Kun

doi:10.34238/tnu-jst.11767

THE EFFECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – IPRS ON KOREA’S EXPORT TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS

About this article

Received: 25/12/24 Revised: 27/03/25 Published: 28/03/25

Authors

Lee Song Kun , Phenikaa University

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of intellectual property rights enforcement on Korea’s technological exports to 158 partner countries during 2010–2022. Using a gravity model and GMM estimation, the findings reveal a significant positive effect of IPR on exports across all technology levels. Specifically, a one-unit increase in the IPR index of importing countries leads to a 0.407% rise in high-tech exports, a 0.157% increase in medium-tech exports, and a 0.096% increase in low-tech exports. These results highlight the pivotal role of strong IPR regimes in promoting Korea’s technological export growth, particularly in innovation-intensive industries. This underscores the critical role of robust IPR regimes in protecting innovation, reducing imitation risks, and fostering trade in innovation-intensive sectors. High-tech industries, which heavily rely on intellectual property protection to safeguard R&D investments, benefit the most from stringent intellectual property rights enforcement. Medium- and low-tech exports also gain from intellectual property rights by reducing competition from counterfeit or low-quality products and ensuring a fair market environment. These findings highlight the importance of engaging with IPR-compliant markets to maximize Korea’s technological export potential and strengthen its competitive advantage in global high-tech trade.

Keywords

Intellectual property rights; Korea; Technology product export; Gravity model; GMM

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34238/tnu-jst.11767

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