Ando-geol, Former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, "75.5% of R&D Budget Concentrated in Capital Area and Daejeon"

Concerns Over Entrenchment of Research and Development Capabilities Concentrated in Specific Regions

Former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Ando Geol pointed out that with the government’s R&D budget for next year being drastically cut, the reduced budget is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area and Daejeon, inevitably solidifying the regional concentration of research and development capabilities.

He expressed particular concern that since most of the local R&D project funds rely on government support, the significant budget cuts will accelerate the outflow of regional R&D personnel and greatly reduce job opportunities for graduate student researchers in master’s and doctoral programs.

Former Vice Minister Ando made these remarks on the 16th at Chosun University during the ‘Intellectual Property Seminar and Excellent Technology Commercialization Briefing Session.’

He stated, “Next year’s government R&D budget has been cut for the first time in 33 years, set at 25.9 trillion won. Furthermore, 75.5% of the total R&D budget is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area and Daejeon, which is expected to lead to the outflow of regional R&D personnel and a significant reduction in job opportunities for graduate student researchers in master’s and doctoral programs.”

He continued, “R&D, which is essential for securing the nation’s future growth engines such as AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the bio-industry, will inevitably be delayed due to budget shortages. Above all, the budget for raising R&D capabilities by region, despite being evaluated as excellent in comprehensive assessments of balanced development projects and achievement rates of support performance, has been indiscriminately cut, which will entrench the concentration of research and development capabilities in specific regions.”

According to former Vice Minister Ando, the budget for the ‘Regional Research and Development Innovation Support’ project, which forms the foundation of regional R&D led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, decreased from 23.874 billion won last year to 13.387 billion won this year. The budget for projects fostering regional research and development special zones dropped from 128.39 billion won to 100.032 billion won.

The budget for the project supporting the activation of regional science museums to bridge the regional science culture gap also shrank from 20.314 billion won to 11.659 billion won.

Additionally, among next year’s support funds, Seoul accounts for 33.1% and Daejeon 35.1%, meaning the Seoul metropolitan area and Daejeon together take up 75.5% of the total budget, making it difficult for R&D personnel to sustain themselves in regions outside these areas.

Former Vice Minister Ando said, “The government cites low investment efficiency as the reason for cutting the R&D budget. Before making cuts, it should establish systems or mechanisms to verify performance so that resources can be appropriately allocated.”

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