The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on Jan. 2 that it will invest 6.32 trillion won in the ministry’s research and development (R&D) budget for the new year, marking a 21.2% increase from last year. This substantial investment aims to bolster South Korea’s position as a global leader in technology and innovation, focusing on key areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, biotechnology, and quantum technology.
The comprehensive implementation plan for the new year’s R&D projects was confirmed and announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Of the total budget, 5 trillion 58 billion won will be allocated to the field of science and technology, while 1 trillion 315.6 billion won will be dedicated to information and communication technology (ICT). The ministry emphasized the importance of fostering the three major game-changer technologies: AI, semiconductors, biotechnology, and quantum.
In the field of science and technology, new projects will be launched to develop biofoundry-based technologies, van der Waals (vdW) materials and process technologies for ultra-high-density semiconductors, and support for leading universities in global quantum science and technology partnerships. Each of these projects has been allocated a budget of around 4 billion won. Additionally, ongoing initiatives such as the Future Display Strategy Research Center and the Pan-Ministry Full-Cycle Medical Device R&D Project will continue to receive support.
The ministry has also earmarked 60 billion won to encourage research life for graduate students in science and engineering. This includes promoting talent development projects aimed at fostering young researchers and attracting overseas talent. To bridge the gap between R&D achievements and technology commercialization, new projects will be introduced, including a 7.5 billion won support for joint innovation R&D between university research institutes and startups, and a 12.3 billion won fast track for the commercialization of next-generation promising seed technologies.
In the ICT field, the ministry will focus on securing advancements in AI, AI semiconductors, and quantum technologies. Projects will be promoted for domestic AI semiconductor-based cloud technology, general artificial intelligence (AGI) research tasks, AI safety research, quantum cryptography communication, and quantum sensor industrialization. To support AI research using private clouds, computing infrastructure will be provided. The K-Cloud technology project has been allocated 36.6 billion won, the next-generation challenging AI technology project 6.1 billion won, the AI safety technology project 8 billion won, the quantum sensor commercialization technology project 13.8 billion won, and the AI research computing support project 9 billion won.
Furthermore, the ministry will invest 87 billion won in a low-orbit satellite communication system based on 6th generation (6G) mobile communication standards, as well as in cybersecurity and immersive content. Support projects for nurturing practical talent in the AI semiconductor field, such as AI graduate schools and AI semiconductor graduate schools, and for nurturing advanced talent in the digital new industry will also be promoted.
To improve the R&D system, the ministry is preparing measures to enhance project planning by receiving advice from private experts or subdividing large projects into stages and starting with simpler stages first. The preliminary feasibility study system has been abolished, and project managers (PMs) will now be allowed to recommend evaluation committee members, with the conflict-of-interest system being abolished to improve R&D efficiency. The ministry also plans to strengthen global R&D projects by forming a pan-ministry global R&D council and creating a database of related achievements to support follow-up research.
The ministry will announce the schedule for promoting new projects according to the comprehensive implementation plan on this day and plans to explain the specific details, task solicitation timing, and procedures to researchers at a joint briefing session for government R&D projects at the end of this month.
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