South Korea will establish a research institute devoted to developing environmental technology as part of its efforts to spur the "green growth" drive at home, a presidential committee said Thursday.

The Green Technology Center will be founded in March to support research and development efforts in green growth and help promote global cooperation in developing environmental technology, according to the Presidential Committee on Green Growth.

The plan is among the seven key policy goals proposed by the committee to promote President Lee Myung-bak's signature green growth campaign.

Other plans include laying the legislative groundwork for carbon trading next month and turning the Global Green Growth Institute, headquartered in Seoul, into an international organization.

The committee said the increasing investment by the government in research and development of green technology had helped reduce the technological gap between South Korea and other advanced countries and encourage private sector investment.

Data showed government support for the R&D initiatives in green technology rose to 2.8 trillion won (2.49 billion US dollars) last year, up from 1.4 trillion won in 2008.

The country's 30 major companies also boosted their investment in green industries, which reached 22.4 trillion won last year.