[2022 National Audit] Science and Broadcasting Committee Focuses on 'Negligence and Corruption' in Government-Funded Research Institutes

National Audit on the 18th at Daejeon Basic Science Research Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "All citizens of our country owe a debt to scientists. So why do stories about hiring irregularities and poor research keep coming up? It is regrettable that most researchers seem to be unfairly treated because of a few cases."

On the 18th, during the National Assembly’s audit of about 50 government-funded research institutes under the Ministry of Science and ICT, persistent issues such as poor research and management oversight and moral hazard were repeatedly pointed out.

First, the false registration incident of an in-house research company at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) came under scrutiny. Jeong Pil-mo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed to GIST President Kim Ki-seon and Kang Byung-sang, Chairman of the Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation, saying, "They processed fraudulent documents without verification and allowed them to receive government funding." He added, "The falsely registered research companies ultimately received government support funds, wasting taxpayers’ money. Conduct a thorough investigation and take responsibility for supervision." Jeong also demanded that Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT grasp the situation and establish an audit plan.

Heo Eun-ah, a member of the People Power Party, criticized the Korean Research Foundation’s neglect in managing false resume submissions. Heo said, "It is shocking that the chairman only found out a few days ago that an employee who falsified their self-introduction for a year was hired and then resigned," adding, "This unfair act deprived many job seekers of opportunities. Why was this not reported to the Ministry of Science and ICT?"

Kwon Seong-dong, also from the People Power Party, raised concerns about the selection of the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) as the operating agency for the National Space Policy Center last year. He said to the chairman of the Korean Research Foundation, "Looking at the scores of STEPI and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, which competed at the time, three of the seven judges gave STEPI extremely high scores under the foundation’s influence. Doesn’t it look like a joke to anyone?" He added, "They refuse to provide detailed scoring sheets. Since the foundation’s auditor is a Democratic Party member, the Ministry of Science and ICT should establish an audit plan and report."

Park Wan-joo, a member of the Democratic Party, claimed that government-funded research institutes excessively spend on indirect costs in research and development (R&D). He said, "Even though research resources, administrative personnel, and facilities are already in place, indirect costs are excessively spent from the R&D budget," adding, "The national R&D budget used by government-funded research institutes under the National Research Council of Science and Technology is 4.49 trillion won, of which 17.54% is indirect costs." He urged improvement, saying, "If there is a shortage in labor or facility costs, other budgets should be used, not R&D project funds."

Kim Young-joo, a Democratic Party member, pointed out the delay in the launch of the small cluster satellite Toyosat for space weather observation by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. Kim said, "In July, the institute inquired about whether it was a strategic item to the Strategic Materials Management Institute under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy without consulting the Ministry of Science and ICT, resulting in a strategic item designation that made space cooperation with Russia impossible," adding, "The U.S. still maintains space development cooperation with Russia, including the International Space Station (ISS). Why did the Ministry of Science and ICT not consult on this matter that wasted hundreds of millions of won in launch costs? Conduct an internal audit."

Park Chan-dae, a Democratic Party member, criticized poor management of research and development reports. He told Minister Lee, "Research results that do not disclose that experiments were conducted in the past but report as if entirely new experiments were done receive an A grade," urging, "The evaluation process must be properly reviewed."

Jang Kyung-tae, a Democratic Party member, summoned KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung to question KAIST’s negligence in managing Minister Lee’s semiconductor patents and the waste of litigation costs. KAIST is currently involved in a lawsuit in a U.S. court with KIP, the agency managing Minister Lee’s patent rights, over the distribution of patent royalties. Jang said, "The recent ruling by the U.S. District Court in Wisconsin was not a dismissal favorable to KAIST," adding, "KAIST violated the agreement, did not undergo arbitration, and spent $150,000 in litigation costs. How will you handle this? Will you pay the litigation costs out of your own pocket?" He also called for stronger penalties such as outright exclusion for serious research misconduct including plagiarism, falsification, and improper authorship attribution.

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