The government will pour more than 200 trillion won into national research and development (R&D) over the five years from 2026 to 2030, the largest such commitment ever. It is a top-tier investment roadmap designed to break head-on through a ‘nutcracker’ predicament in which Korea is being overtaken by China in flagship technologies such as semiconductors and secondary batteries while the gap with leading nations widens in future technologies.
 [코리안투데이] Framework diagram of the four strategies of the 2nd Mid- to Long-Term Investment Strategy for National R&D © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon) announced on August 31 that it had finalized the 2nd Mid- to Long-Term Investment Strategy for National R&D (2026–2030) following approval at the 9th deliberative meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology. The strategy takes effect on September 1 after being approved by the Cabinet.
Drawn up every five years under Article 7-2 of the Framework Act on Science and Technology, the strategy is an implementation roadmap that translates the 6th Science and Technology Basic Plan, finalized this past June, into government R&D investment. Containing national missions, performance targets, annual milestones, and an investment portfolio, it serves as the guideline for the annually established Directions and Standards for National R&D Investment, for budget allocation and coordination, and for 76 mid- to long-term plans currently being carried out by 20 central administrative agencies.
A clear sense of crisis lies behind the government’s move to establish the strategy. As of 2024, Korea’s technology level in semiconductors and displays had been overturned, standing at 91.2 against China’s 91.5, while secondary batteries were also reversed at 98.8 for Korea versus 100 for China. Advanced robotics and manufacturing, as well as advanced bio, retreated over two years. As capital flowed disproportionately into unproductive sectors such as real estate and eroded growth engines, the potential growth rate was projected to fall to around 1 percent in the 2030s.
During the 1st Investment Strategy period (2023–2027), the average technology level relative to leading nations rose from 80.1 percent to 82.8 percent, and Korea’s defense science and technology ranking climbed from 9th to 8th. Yet the number of strategic technologies at 90 percent or higher fell from three to two, exposing limits in commercialization, infrastructure, and talent. The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that, having spent the past year restoring the R&D budget to about 5 percent of total government spending and abolishing the R&D preliminary feasibility study to clear away the old framework, the country is now at the stage of deciding where to concentrate resources during the remaining four years of golden time.
The strategy’s vision is ‘Realizing an Irreplaceable Republic of Korea through Science and Technology N·E·X·T Investment.’ It is a declaration to compete with technologies no one else can substitute, reorganizing 20 fields—spanning 10 technology areas and eight policy areas—into four strategies and eight tasks. The initials of the strategies spell out ‘N·E·X·T.’
Strategy N (Nexus) concentrates technology on three mega-projects on which the nation’s fate rests. It aims to secure top capabilities in AI models, physical AI, and AI data centers, and to pursue domestic production of ultra-fine and stacked devices such as next-generation HBM and compound semiconductors, along with five core robot components. Strategy E (Enforce) prepares for the next 20 years with seven SEEDs led by advanced bio, quantum, and aerospace, while strengthening advanced supply chains, future clean energy, and defense capabilities. Strategy X (eXpand) returns research time to scientists—abolishing the PBS at government-funded research institutes and covering all personnel costs through government contributions by 2030—and broadens the ecosystem by expanding region-led autonomous R&D from 4.2 percent to 15 percent. Strategy T (Trust) applies AI to disaster safety and expands everyday technological welfare in care, healthcare, culture, food, and housing so that the 200 trillion won investment translates into people’s lives.
Over the five years the strategy is in effect, global AI competitiveness is to rise from 5th to 3rd, the self-sufficiency rate for semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment from 30 percent to 50 percent, and the domestic production rate of core robot components from 41 percent to 80 percent. Three blockbuster new drugs, Korea’s first privately led lunar landing, five of the world’s top 100 research institutions, and 50 K-unicorns are the milestones set for 2030. In an appendix titled ‘How Things Will Change in Five Years,’ the government disclosed performance indicators and their sources by field so that any citizen can verify implementation.
What set this strategy apart was, above all, the way it was made. Moving beyond a small group of experts, it was designed through collective intelligence involving 15 members of the general committee, 216 members across 13 subcommittees, and 166 members of the Council’s expert committees. Using AI, it analyzed 33.81 million science and technology papers from the past 20 years to reconstruct 4,234 research topics and derive 657 high-growth promising technologies and 405 core technologies. AI served as an auxiliary tool for analysis, with experts leading the final judgment on investment directions and priorities. Launched this past January, the strategy was finalized through four general committee meetings, public and regional hearings (July 2, July 23–24, and July 29), and inter-ministerial consultations (August 7–13).
The finalized strategy will be reflected in sequence in the mid-term plan for national R&D projects, the following year’s investment directions, and the annual R&D budget spending ceiling. The Office of Science, Technology and Innovation will prepare investment directions and standards by March 15 each year and a budget allocation and coordination plan by June 30, operating on a rolling-plan basis that adjusts the portfolio as circumstances change. The intent is not to file away a five-year document in a drawer but to keep it alive each year in the budget and in the field.
Park In-kyu, head of the Office of Science, Technology and Innovation, said, ‘If the past year was a time to restore a shaken research ecosystem, the next four years must be a time to produce the results of real growth built upon it,’ adding, ‘Because we have concentrated investment on the mega-projects and the seven SEEDs while also including stable investment in basic research, young researchers, and the regions, we will make it possible to confirm a changed Republic of Korea four years from now not in numbers but in the research field and in the daily lives of the people.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화
THE KOREAN TODAY × WIA CODE
이 기사의 WIA Code
WIA Code 스캐너로 비추면 인터넷 없이 발행 사실과 위·변조 여부를 확인할 수 있습니다.
휴대폰 기본 카메라로 찍으면 스캐너 안내 페이지가 열립니다 — 기사 바로 열기
움직이는 코드(스트림) 한 장에 기사 전문(사진 포함)이 담겨 있습니다 — WIA Code 스캐너로 약 24초 비추면 폰에 저장되어 인터넷 없이도 읽을 수 있습니다. Stream.mp4 도 여기서 받습니다.
WIA Code · 코리안투데이
Leave a Reply