Interministerial Global R&D Budget Finalized at KRW 1.8167 Trillion — New Global R&D Special Committee to Be Established

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), led by Minister Lee Jong-ho, announced that the Korean government’s 2024 Global R&D budget has been finalized at KRW 1.8167 trillion. The ministry said it will designate 2024 as the inaugural year of Korea’s Global R&D initiative and begin implementing related policies in earnest.

As economic and security alliances between nations increasingly expand into technology alliances, global competition for technological leadership is intensifying. In this environment, so-called “Global R&D”—moving beyond isolated domestic research toward open collaboration with the world’s leading research institutions and researchers—has become more important than ever.

In response, the government established the “Strategy for Advancing Global R&D to Lead the World” on November 27 last year. The strategy sets out three major policy directions: ① reforming the Global R&D system to pursue world-class excellence, ② strengthening the global capabilities of Korean researchers, and ③ creating a research ecosystem aligned with global standards. Full-scale implementation will begin this year.

The key measures for Global R&D in 2024 are as follows.

First, Korea will transform its R&D system to pursue world-class global research.

The interministerial Global R&D budget has been expanded and reorganized to KRW 1.8167 trillion, equivalent to 6.8% of the government’s total R&D budget.

Global R&D will be implemented through a two-track system. The first track consists of top-down Global R&D programs, including joint research and researcher exchanges focused on national strategic technologies and other priority areas. The second track consists of bottom-up global basic research programs initiated by researchers.

The government will also broaden the role of Global R&D by supporting the international dissemination and application of research outcomes in areas such as standardization, commercialization, and demonstration projects.

2024 Global R&D Investment Portfolio

In addition, given the nature of international R&D collaboration and the differences in budget systems across countries, the government will support more flexible management of Global R&D funding. To address discrepancies between budget planning and execution schedules, exceptions to the existing fiscal-year alignment requirement will be introduced during the first half of the year.

• Detailed guidelines for budget formulation and fund management plans will be revised in the first half of 2024.

In particular, to ensure that interministerial Global R&D programs are implemented more strategically and effectively, the government plans to establish a “Global R&D Strategy Map” within the year.

The strategy map will cover Korea’s 12 National Strategic Technologies and 17 Carbon-Neutral Technologies and will use data-driven analysis to identify each country’s technological strengths and develop technology-specific international collaboration strategies.

The government will also strengthen the role of overseas strategic hubs in promoting Global R&D.

Various overseas support centers currently operated separately by different ministries and sectors will have their roles reorganized from an interministerial perspective. In addition, the government plans to establish a “Global R&D Strategic Hub Center Implementation Plan” during the first half of the year to systematically support Global R&D coordinators and international research activities.

Furthermore, to ensure systematic management and coordination of Global R&D across ministries, the government plans to establish a Global R&D Special Committee under the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology early in the year.

The committee will be responsible for reviewing and coordinating major Global R&D policies, responding to emerging international issues, and monitoring key programs.

The committee will be chaired by the Head of the Science, Technology and Innovation Office and will consist of approximately 25 members, including government representatives from relevant ministries and experts from industry, academia, and research institutions.

Second, Korea Will Fully Launch Programs to Strengthen the Global Capabilities of Its Researchers

A new “Top-Tier Research Institution Collaboration Platform Program” will be launched this year with a budget of KRW 10 billion. The program is designed to support researcher exchanges and other forms of collaboration with the world’s leading research institutions. The implementation plan will be finalized early in the year, with the first call for proposals scheduled for the first quarter.

The Overseas Outstanding Scientist Recruitment Program, with a 2024 budget of KRW 31.8 billion, has also finalized its 2024 implementation plan. Calls for proposals to select principal investigators will be conducted in two rounds: the first in December 2023 and the second in March 2024. In particular, to strengthen the recruitment of Korean researchers living overseas, overseas Korean researchers will be exempt from nationality-based selection quotas.

New forms of global support for basic research will also be introduced. Programs such as Leader Research, Mid-Career Research (Global Track), Early-Career Research (Global Track), Basic Research Laboratories, and Leading Research Centers will encourage flexible and diverse collaboration with world-class researchers to generate innovative outcomes.

The government will also launch a new Global Matching Program, which will support joint research in pre-agreed fields through reciprocal funding arrangements with selected overseas institutions.

• Global Matching Program: New program in 2024, with a budget of KRW 6.25 billion; up to KRW 200 million per project annually for three years.

Third, Korea Will Rapidly Build a Global R&D-Friendly Research Ecosystem

The government plans to revise the Enforcement Decree of the National Research and Development Innovation Act early in the year to ease participation restrictions, allowing leading overseas research institutions to participate directly in government-funded R&D projects as joint research partners.

For Korean researchers conducting Global R&D, the number of projects that may be undertaken simultaneously will also be expanded from the current “3 principal investigator / 5 concurrent projects” rule to “4 principal investigator / 6 concurrent projects.”

The government also plans to issue a Global R&D Guideline Manual early in the year to ensure that Global R&D funding is used appropriately and research outcomes are securely managed. The manual will provide practical guidance on issues such as intellectual property ownership and the use of R&D funds.

To prevent the leakage of strategically important technologies through international research collaboration, Korea will also establish a research security management system aligned with internationally trusted standards.

Measures will include stronger protection of research assets by managing information on overseas benefits or funding received by principal investigators participating in national R&D projects. The government also plans to revise relevant regulations this year to further subdivide the security classification of R&D projects and strengthen the proactive protection of potentially critical technologies.

Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho said, “The Global R&D initiatives being fully launched this year are not about indiscriminately directing resources overseas. We will pursue them in line with global standards and in ways that clearly benefit Korea.”

He added that the government will thoroughly prepare for international collaboration by building concrete cooperation networks with overseas institutions, including through MOUs.

“2024 marks the inaugural year of Korea’s full-scale Global R&D initiative,” Lee said. “We will rapidly reform the R&D system to ensure that Global R&D programs are implemented without disruption.”

He continued, “Through close interministerial cooperation, the Ministry of Science and ICT will take the lead in ensuring that Global R&D helps Korea produce world-class researchers and research achievements.”

Source: Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT)