The Ministry of Science and ICT's Justified 'Deep Frustration' [Reading Science]

Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT. File photo. Not related to the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] 'Deep frustration.' It is an emotion one can feel when they have done their best and achieved good results, but others fail to recognize or distort them. For reference, 'bakkida' is a colloquial expression for being angry. After the National Assembly passed the 607.7 trillion won budget for next year on the 3rd, officials from the Ministry of Science and ICT likely felt this 'deep frustration' upon seeing some media reports.

What happened? On the 9th, reporters covering the Ministry of Science and ICT unexpectedly received the finalized details of next year's government research and development (R&D) budget, which had already been approved by the National Assembly earlier this month. They wondered why the detailed budget, already disclosed on the day of approval, was sent again.

Upon closer examination, it seems the reason was this 'deep frustration.' Immediately after the budget passed the National Assembly, some reports contained inaccuracies. Some criticized that while the National Assembly increased populist budgets and social overhead capital (SOC) for constituencies, supposedly to win votes ahead of the presidential election, the R&D budget for the 'nation's future' was cut. There were even claims that "the government's support for the semiconductor and battery industries, the moves of advanced countries, and the rapidly increasing military tensions in Northeast Asia were ignored in favor of cash handouts and constituency selfishness."

Is this true? It is correct that during the review process, the R&D budget was reduced by 23.6 billion won compared to the government's original proposal. However, these claims are problematic because they can be interpreted as saying that next year's R&D budget decreased compared to this year. In fact, one media outlet titled an article "Government pours money for the presidential election, but R&D projects are actually 'cut'." This distorted headline easily leads to misunderstanding about who cut the budget and what was cut.

First, it is common practice for the National Assembly to review and either increase or decrease the government's original budget proposal. Since government ministries tend to somewhat inflate their initial proposals in anticipation of the rigorous National Assembly review, it has always been common for the budget to be reduced by even a small amount upon approval. The R&D budget was no exception. However, the overall budget for this year and next year was actually increased during the National Assembly review due to the exceptional circumstances of COVID-19.

Most importantly, the R&D budget for next year has significantly increased compared to this year. Therefore, describing the R&D budget as 'cut' is a distortion. Criticism that preparations for the future are inadequate is also incorrect. A total of 29.777 trillion won was confirmed, an 8.87% (2.3765 trillion won) increase from this year's 27.4005 trillion won. Since the Moon Jae-in administration, the R&D budget has continuously increased significantly, rising by more than 10 trillion won over five years. It grew from 19.5 trillion won in 2017 to 19.7 trillion won in 2018, 20.5 trillion won in 2019, 24.2 trillion won in 2020, 27.4 trillion won this year, and 29.8 trillion won next year. The growth rates were 1.1% in 2018, 4.4% in 2019, 18.0% in 2020, 13.1% in 2021, and 8.8% in 2022, showing a steep upward trend compared to previous administrations.

At this point, it seems clear why the Ministry of Science and ICT, which has worked hard to increase the budget by trillions of won every year compared to the previous year, issued press releases twice and felt 'deep frustration.' With the presidential election approaching, all fields are becoming 'politicized.' Even so, the 'facts' should be reported as they are, so as not to cause unnecessary harm to those who are doing their best in their respective positions. To the Ministry of Science and ICT staff who reorganized and distributed the 2022 R&D budget details, thank you for your hard work.

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