President Moon: "Next Year's R&D Budget Will Be Invested in Vaccine and Treatment Development"

'Opening Remarks at the 3rd Plenary Meeting of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council'

President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the 3rd plenary session of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council held at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 21st. 2020.12.21 [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in said on the 21st, "The government's research and development (R&D) budget for next year is 27.4 trillion won, the largest ever," adding, "It will be投入 into the development of treatments and vaccines, serving as a catalyst for overcoming the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."

On the afternoon of the same day, President Moon presided over the '3rd National Science and Technology Advisory Council Plenary Meeting' at the Blue House and said in his opening remarks, "Even at this moment, we support the scientists and technologists who are doing their best to develop treatments and vaccines together with the people."

President Moon said, "Next year will be a very meaningful year for our science and technology community," adding, "Combining government and private sectors, we will open the era of 100 trillion won in R&D." He continued, "In terms of scale, we rank fifth in the world, and in terms of investment ratio relative to gross domestic product (GDP), we compete for first and second place globally," emphasizing, "The grand dream of a 'science-based nation,' which is growing larger, is embodied in R&D investment. It can also be called the ambition to become a leading country." He also added, "The private sector accounts for 78% of national R&D funding, indicating that the innovation capabilities of companies, universities, and research institutes have greatly improved."

President Moon said, "If the role of science and technology grows further in solving national safety and health issues such as infectious diseases, greenhouse gases, and climate change, as well as global challenges, we can become an innovative powerhouse leading the world," adding, "This is an era where science and technology are the driving forces of the economy and security. We must lead the world in science and technology and become a strong country that exports technology beyond products."

The meeting was held to announce related policies ahead of entering the '100 trillion won era of national R&D investment,' combining private and government sectors. The scale of R&D investment, which was about 86 trillion won in 2018, increased to 89 trillion won last year and 90 trillion won this year, and is expected to approach 100 trillion won next year.

President Moon said, "The era when the government led national science and technology capabilities is over," urging to invigorate private R&D investment through bold regulatory reforms. He also mentioned the '2050 Carbon Neutrality' policy, saying, "Science and technology must support the roadmap for carbon neutrality. Only by going together with science and technology can that roadmap succeed," and requested, "I hope wisdom will be gathered in developing core technologies as well as creating and advancing the roadmap for carbon neutrality."

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