South Korea in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 3,995 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: South Korea lists 3,995 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~1.61% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (1,256) and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (218).
How many Top 2% scientists are from South Korea?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for South Korea (kor) lists 3,995 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 1.61% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,029, with average h-index near 13.1, across 390 distinct institutions.
South Korea’s list grew sharply from 2020 to 2026, with Enabling & Strategic Technologies and Clinical Medicine as twin pillars and Seoul National University, KAIST, and Yonsei among leading affiliations.
East Asia peers: Japan, China, and Hong Kong.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in South Korea?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s South Korea country profile (kor, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Han, Heesup (Sejong University; Economics & Business; global rank 97; ~8,337 citations). The table below uses # in country for order within this national list and Global rank for the scholar’s overall rank_all in the single-year listing.
| # in country | Researcher | Institution | Field | Global rank | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Han, Heesup | Sejong University | Economics & Business | 97 | 8,337 |
| 2 | Rhim, Jong-whan | Kyung Hee University | Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry | 272 | 8,276 |
| 3 | Sun, Yang-kook | Hanyang University | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 296 | 10,248 |
| 4 | Park, Nam-gyu | Sungkyunkwan University | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 307 | 7,958 |
| 5 | Kim, Ki Hyun | Hanyang University | Earth & Environmental Sciences | 625 | 11,458 |
| 6 | Sundar, S. Shyam | Sungkyunkwan University | Communication & Textual Studies | 940 | 2,821 |
| 7 | Lee, Sang Yup | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 1,647 | 5,295 |
| 8 | Park, Soo-jin | Kyung Hee University | Chemistry | 1,840 | 6,903 |
| 9 | Ruoff, Rodney S. | Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 1,981 | 8,278 |
| 10 | Kim, Se-kwon | Hanyang University | Chemistry | 2,266 | 3,449 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on South Korea analytics.
What are South Korea’s strongest fields?
South Korea’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 1,256 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 1,256 |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 704 |
| Engineering | 403 |
| Information & Communication Technologies | 320 |
| Chemistry | 314 |
Which institutions lead in South Korea?
The largest institutional cohort in the South Korea profile is Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (218 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | 218 |
| Seoul National University | 199 |
| Korea University | 163 |
| Yonsei University | 129 |
| Sungkyunkwan University | 128 |
How has South Korea’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, South Korea moved from 2,136 listed scholars (2020) to 3,995 (2026) — a change of 1,859 (~+87%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,136 |
| 2021 | 2,711 |
| 2022 | 2,973 |
| 2023 | 3,236 |
| 2024 | 3,495 |
| 2025 | 3,687 |
| 2026 | 3,995 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 3,995 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 1.61% |
| Avg. citations | 1,029 |
| Avg. h-index | 13.1 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 97 |
| Distinct institutions | 390 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (1,256) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Han, Heesup (Sejong University; Economics & Business). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore South Korea on ABS Nexora
- South Korea country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Japan Top 2% directory 2026
- China Top 2% directory 2026
- Australia Top 2% directory 2026
- Rising countries 2020–2026
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does South Korea have in 2026? 3,995 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 1.61% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in South Korea? Clinical Medicine, with 1,256 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, with 218 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did South Korea grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 2,136 to 3,995 listed scholars (~+87%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among South Korea’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Han, Heesup leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live South Korea country page or Analytics on ABS Nexora; numbers refresh with the Directory database. Data source: Elsevier / Stanford–Ioannidis World’s Top 2% Scientists lists via ABS Nexora.