Korean companies held the fourth-largest number of patents among from firms in China, with 24,003 registration as of March 2004, following Japan having 125,976, the United States with 86,896 and Germany with 31,482 cases, according to a survey by the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency survey.

Korean firms also ranked fourth in the number of petitions for acquiring patents after Japan, the U.S. and Germany. Among the Korean firms, Samsung and LG groups applied for 1,568 and 805 cases, respectively, taking second and fifth place among individual foreign companies in the country.