As open source spreads across national strategic sectors such as AI, semiconductors, aerospace, and national defense, complex risks including licensing disputes, security vulnerabilities, and AI training data copyright issues are growing; in response, government-funded research institutes are fully expanding their joint response system to a pan-research institute scale.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on the 7th that it will expand the operation of the 'Government-funded Research Institute Open Source Council' into a pan-government-funded research institute system.

ETRI explained that since leading the launch of a consultative body involving eight institutions in August 2022, it has been driving the establishment of guidelines and the strengthening of practical capabilities, and starting this year, it plans to expand the participating institutions to all government-funded research institutes to spread successful governance cases and strengthen the foundation for cooperation linked to national mid-to-long-term science and technology policies.

The consortium was launched based on the judgment that individual research institutions face limitations in managing the vast amount of open source usage and complex software supply chains on their own.

The existing council has collaborated through joint responses to open source issues, sharing experiences in building governance, spreading use cases, and holding Tech Days.

ETRI stated that it has played a pivotal role in public sector open source management based on its proprietary open source governance system and R&D management know-how.

Through this expanded operation, technical and legal risks It is reported that the joint response system will be advanced and contribute to securing national strategic technology sovereignty and enhancing the stability of the public research ecosystem.

Lee Seung-hwan, Head of Planning at ETRI, stated, “Open source collaboration among government-funded research institutes goes beyond simple technology sharing and is a core strategy to enhance the competitiveness of the national R&D ecosystem.” He added, “We will foster mutually beneficial cooperation and a sustainable research environment centered around this council, while also contributing to the realization of ESG management.”

Meanwhile, ETRI published the '2025 ETRI Open Source Annual Report,' which includes the process of governance advancement, R&D application cases, and open platform operation performance, and made it available on its official website.