Seoul is ranked sixth in the world, after Singapore, in the city competitiveness index from the Mori Memorial Foundation in Japan.

In the 2018 “Business Environment Evaluation” from the World Bank, Korea was selected as a good country(city) to do business in after New Zealand, Singapore, and Denmark.

FDI Magazine evaluated Seoul to become the fourth largest city in the Asia-Pacific region.

Acadis's Sustainable Cities Index 2017 ranked Seoul as the world's top sustainable city with an excellent public transportation system.

In the 2018 UN e-Government Assessment, Korea ranked third in e-government development.

In 2018, Brand Finance announced that Korea's national brand value rose 43% year-on-year.

Seoul was ranked 3rd, for consecutive fourth years, as the best country to hold international conferences in by UIA.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Korea ranked first in R&D investments in ratio to GDP in 2017.

R & D and Innovation
The EU's 2018 European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) ranked Korea first.
This ranking provides a comparison assessment between EU member countries and competitors.