As the government drastically cuts the national research and development (R&D) budget for 2024, experts are increasingly calling for a repeal of the budget cuts and greater communication with the scientific community.

On the 5th, the Democratic Party of Korea’s People’s Economy Policy Committee (Chairman Kim Tae-nyeon) held a discussion on ‘R&D Budget Cuts, Listening to Voices from the Field’ at the National Assembly. The discussion was attended by Moon Sung-mo, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Scientists and Engineers Associations; Lee Seung-bok, Director of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies; Lee Eo-hwak, Co-Chairman of the National Science and Technology Research Specialists’ Union; Kim Jae-seong, Chairman of the National Science and Technology Research Specialists’ Union; and Ahn Byeong-guk, Vice President of the KAIST Graduate School Student Council.

Last June, the government set the R&D budget at 25.9 trillion won, a 16.6% (5.2 trillion won) cut. The Ministry of Science and ICT’s major project expenses decreased by 13.9% (3.4 trillion won) to 21.5 trillion won, and the cut in major project expenses for government-funded research institutes in particular exceeded 25%.

The scientific community, which was hit hard by the government's plan to 'research funding cartel', launched the 'National Science and Technology Establishment Science and Technology Solidarity Conference' to oppose the unprecedented budget cuts. Experts have expressed concern that the cuts in research funding will lead to a long-term decline in talent, including the immediate suspension of research projects and reductions in researchers next year.

On this day, Lee Seung-bok, a professor at Seoul National University’s School of Dentistry and director of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, emphasized communication between the government and the scientific community in order to establish a reasonable budget plan. Professor Lee asserted, “Currently, researchers do not know the government’s blueprint, and they only figure out the direction when the budget plan comes out,” and “there will be no confusion if the government has sufficient discussions with researchers in the field and gradually changes the structure.”

Experts emphasized that basic scientific research projects are a long-term, solid foundation for the country.

According to this professor, the budget cut problem in the university field has a negative impact not only on the budget itself but also on the development of future talent structurally. If old basic research projects are discontinued due to budget cuts, there is concern that the diversity of research will be reduced and the competitiveness of basic scientific technology will decline. Some 5,300 people have now signed a statement from the Coalition for Basic Research calling for a repeal of the budget cuts and for the business nature of the discipline that underpins research to be preserved.

The professor said, “Research capabilities should be passed on to the next generation of researchers through the growth ladder, but if a research suspension occurs, long-term research capabilities will be lost, the ladder threshold will be raised, and growth opportunities will be halved.” He added, “If things continue this way, the number of projects will eventually be reduced to 15,000 in 26, and only 25% of the 30,000 researchers will be given opportunities.”

Lee Eo-hwak, the co-chair of the Science and Technology Solidarity Conference for the Establishment of National Science and Technology, also appealed to restore the R&D budget and make a decision through sufficient dialogue. “I have actually seen reports of budget cuts of up to 80%,” he said. “This means that research that has been conducted in the past will not be completed.”

Kim Jae-seong, chairman of the National Science and Technology Research Labor Union, pointed out that the very act of focusing on efficiency in science and technology, which is a solid foundation in the long term, is problematic. Chairman Kim said, “Science and technology are not areas where immediate business success is achieved, so forcing investment only in new and innovative technologies and cutting the budget for invisible basic science areas will only increase inefficiency in the long term.” For example, the secondary battery business also mostly involves investment from small and medium-sized businesses, and ultimately, its foundation is basic science.

KAIST Graduate School Vice President of Student Council Ahn Byung-guk also said, “The phenomenon of avoiding science and engineering and focusing on certain departments has already been revealed internally,” and “We are researchers studying the universe that was created 13.7 billion years ago. The government’s tasks and policies change every five, two, and one year, and the short period of time that they demand research results is also unreasonable.”

Moon Sung-ho, the chairman of the Korean Council of Scientists and Engineers, emphasized resources, autonomy, and patience as the core elements of the scientific research environment. He said, “It is difficult to apply existing regulations to the research field that seeks new things,” and “sufficient time and patience are needed to obtain sufficient research results.” He also argued that, as a system for this, “a policy is needed that activates a reward system rather than a corporal punishment perspective so that good human resources can come to the field of scientific and technological research and development.”

Chairman Kim Tae-nyeon said, “As a country that has achieved economic growth by protecting its R&D budget so far,” he added, “This will be the first policy priority in this budget review.”