1.79 Trillion Won Support for National Basic Research Next Year... Nurturing Young Scientists

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The government is launching a call for proposals for basic research projects with a budget of 1.7907 trillion KRW for next year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 5th that it will start accepting proposals from the 6th for the basic research project implementation plan, a free proposal-type project where researchers can freely suggest research topics and receive support after evaluation.

The support scale for the basic research project next year increased by 290.9 billion KRW compared to this year. Individual research was allocated 1.477 trillion KRW, and group research was allocated 313.7 billion KRW. New projects include 15 leader research projects, 1,900 mid-career research projects, 1,000 early-career research projects (including Sejong Fellowship), 300 first-life research projects, 20 leading research centers, and 150 basic research labs.

The 'Mid-career Research Project,' which supports outstanding researchers with up to 400 million KRW annually for a maximum of five years, will invest 893.9 billion KRW in 6,166 projects. The 'discipline-specific support system,' piloted in the mathematics field this year, will be expanded to six fields: physics, chemistry, earth science, mathematics, basic and molecular life sciences, and basic and applied medicine.

Support for group basic research will also be expanded, providing 179.5 billion KRW to 130 'Leading Research Centers' in the fields of science, engineering, basic medical science, and regional innovation, and 134.2 billion KRW to 320 'Basic Research Labs' supporting small research groups of 3-4 people.

Applications for individual research under the basic research project will close on December 7, and for group research on January 29 next year. After the selection process, research will begin on March 1 and June 1 next year, respectively.

Details on new project calls and schedules can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.