Photovoltaics (PV) is an eco-friendly and green technology, as a renewable energy source, with the aim of minimizing carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere. The Korean government has financed various domestic installations as well as research and development (R&D) programs to enter and develop a lead in the worldwide PV market. In this study, R&D investments in the area of PV are analyzed in terms of the respective ministry, performer, research characteristics, PV materials and output levels in detail. The Korean government in the Fiscal year (FY) 2010 provided $178 million dollars from R&D funds for PV development. 74% of the R&D funds in the context of PV has been invested by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE). Expenditures for R&D programs in terms of PV are mainly funded by small-medium companies (40%), and the portion of the R&D investment in crystalline silicon solar cells is the highest in terms of materials. In spite of the high levels of R&D investment in PV, the output for commercialization was relatively lower compared to the R&D input in FY 2009-2010. With these results, we suggested to develop various solutions to improve the R&D investment efficiency for PV technology in Korea. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.