The Ministry of Science and ICT presents government R&D investment directions and standards.
Strengthening basic research and future food core technology capabilities

In line with the revision of the three data laws, the Ministry of Science and ICT will strengthen support for the data collection, distribution, and utilization ecosystem, while also working to advance 5G and AI convergence services and future vehicle technologies and secure global competitiveness in the system semiconductor sector.

The Ministry of Science and ICT held the 18th National Science and Technology Advisory Council Steering Committee meeting on March 12th and deliberated and approved the 2021 government research and development investment direction and standards.
While maintaining the fundamental investment approach of contributing to economic development, including scientific and technological innovation, and improving the quality of life—the primary goals of government research and development—in this era of a 24 trillion won R&D budget, we will focus on investments that create tangible results for the public and accelerate innovative growth.

To strengthen the research capabilities of innovative entities, the scale of investment in basic research projects, which are national tasks, will be expanded to KRW 2.52 trillion (KRW 2.03 trillion in 2019), and a stable research environment will be created through measures such as strengthening dedicated support programs for new researchers and initial settlement support.

With the goal of strengthening the innovation capacity of public research institutes, investment areas will be determined based on the roles and responsibilities (P&R) of public and private research institutes, and the business and personnel structures will be reorganized around core areas.

National Research Institute · Establish and operate a specialized R&D performance analysis system and establish a support and management system that allows the institution to focus on its unique role, such as feeding the results back into budget allocation and adjustment.

We will reorganize regional R&D projects, currently being promoted in a fragmented manner by each ministry, into a system in which regions take the lead and central government provides support and cooperation, while strengthening support for regional innovation projects planned by the regions themselves.
In particular, to expand the foundation for science and technology growth, we will provide customized R&D support for key materials, components, and equipment items, and support technology development for smart, eco-friendly, and convergent industries by key industry sector.

We will accelerate innovative growth centered on innovation infrastructure (DNA) such as data, networks, and artificial intelligence, and the three new industries (Big 3) including biohealth, future vehicles, and system semiconductors.

Furthermore, we will strengthen our global competitiveness in the system semiconductor sector by advancing future vehicle technologies such as eco-friendly and autonomous vehicles, strengthening investments to create future growth opportunities in the biohealth sector, and securing next-generation core technology IP and providing full-cycle support for fabless companies.

We will address the mismatch between supply and demand by fostering talent in the fields of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and innovative growth, including SW, AI, and information security, and revitalize corporate support tailored to the specific characteristics of each technology and stage.

In order to increase the efficiency of R&D investment, we are focusing on innovation in future vehicles, system semiconductors, etc.We will expand the application of R&D PIE to key new growth areas and enhance the linkage between policy, investment, and evaluation.
For large-scale R&D projects with large budgets, we conduct in-depth inspections and continue monitoring while increasing the link between the inspection results and the budget.

The investment direction decided this time will be delivered to 22 ministries, agencies, and offices related to R&D, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, by the 15th, and each ministry will use it as a guideline, while the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to use it as a standard for the allocation and adjustment of the 2021 R&D budget.