내년도 R&D 예산 감축이 확실시된 가운데 산업부가 규정한 보조금 성격 사업 및 저혁신 사업, 관행적 지원 사업 등에서 예산 삭감이 이뤄질 것으로 전망된다.

▲Jeonbuk region R&D policy direction briefing held on the 20th (Photo: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)
Next year's R&D of 5.802 trillion won confirmed, background of reduction mentioned
6 major advanced strategic industries 1.984 trillion won, semiconductors 214.2 billion won
Global R&D up 20% year-on-year, human resource development 229.4 billion won
With next year's R&D budget cuts certain, it is expected that budget cuts will be made in subsidy-type projects, low-innovation projects, and conventional support projects stipulated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on the 25th that it has finalized the 2024 research and development (R&D) budget at KRW 5.802 trillion. This is an increase of KRW 177 billion from the previous government plan of KRW 4.9033 trillion, but a decrease of KRW 590.9 billion compared to last year.
The reasons for the reduction in R&D budgets include: △projects with the nature of corporate subsidies, △technology development projects with low innovation, △projects in which the private sector is desirable to invest on its own, and △projects that are conventionally supported.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will invest 1.984 trillion won to expand support for ultra-gap technology development in six advanced strategic industries. The budget, which is a 5.8% increase from last year, was confirmed to be KRW 214.2 billion for semiconductors (up 1% year-on-year), KRW 90.3 billion for displays (up 17.7% year-on-year), KRW 52.5 billion for secondary batteries (up 13.4% year-on-year), KRW 354.9 billion for future cars (up 10% year-on-year), KRW 263.5 billion for biotechnology (down 2% year-on-year), and KRW 123 billion for intelligent robots (up 10.7% year-on-year).
Among these, the semiconductor sector is reported to continue to invest in next-generation semiconductor R&D to maintain the memory gap and enhance the competitiveness of system semiconductors. In particular, securing packaging technology to overcome the limitations of semiconductor microprocessing and secure next-generation system semiconductor technology competitiveness is newly promoted. This includes 19.8 billion won for the development of advanced strategic industry gap technology and 14 billion won for the development of advanced compound power semiconductor technology.
In addition, it was reported that they are seeking to strengthen global competitiveness through the development of core source technologies in the fields of memory, system semiconductors, process equipment, and materials, and the training of next-generation new researchers. The detailed projects include △12 billion won (↑19.2%) for a public-private joint investment semiconductor advanced human resources training project and △10.5 billion won (↑5%) for the development of system semiconductor technologies linked to demand for new market creation.
The government has adopted a strategy to significantly expand global joint research by allocating a budget to global R&D. It plans to support global joint R&D by investing 271.1 billion won in R&D budget, a 20.9% increase from last year.
165.8 billion won (↑56.4%) will be invested in international industrial technology cooperation, of which 57.5 billion won will be added to the global industrial technology cooperation center project. In addition, 28.5 billion won, a 24.4% increase from last year, will be invested in international energy joint research projects.
In addition, a budget of 229.4 billion won, an 11.3% increase, will be invested in talent cultivation R&D and infrastructure support for the development of human resources in cutting-edge strategic industries such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and displays. △157.5 billion won (↑16.1%) was allocated to support the growth of industrial innovation talents, and △58.9 billion won (↑16.8%) was allocated to energy human resources training projects.
Additionally, 1.732 trillion won was allocated to stabilize the supply chain and 720.5 billion won to new energy industries.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it plans to support businesses that inevitably have their capital reduced by providing ultra-low-interest loans of up to 0.5% of the amount reduced by up to twice the amount, to prevent existing investments from being buried.
He added that the 'Industrial Technology R&D Innovation Plan' reflecting the matters discussed in the 20 or so on-site meetings will be announced in January 2024.
At the industrial technology R&D project planning public hearing held on the 6th, Lee Jeong-woo, team leader of the Business Planning Innovation Team at the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning (KEIT), stated, “We plan to plan R&D projects for 2024 centered on mid- to large-scale projects that are expected to create future food for our country,” so it is expected that the budget will be invested primarily in projects and businesses with notable results.