Ministry of Science and ICT's Budget for Next Year Decreases by 1.6% to 18.6 Trillion Won... Lee Jong-ho Says "Pain Due to Transition to New System"

"Enduring Difficulties Well Will Give Significant Competitiveness in Research"
"President Has Never Mentioned 'R&D Cartel'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Jong-ho, Minister of Science and ICT, asked for the understanding of the scientific community regarding the approximately 15% cut in next year's government R&D (research and development) budget compared to this year, describing it as "the pain involved in transitioning to a new system."

At a budget briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 22nd, Minister Lee said, "If we endure the current difficulties well, our country's research sector can gain considerable competitiveness," adding, "I would appreciate it if you could view this positively."

The day before, the National Assembly plenary session approved the Ministry of Science and ICT's budget for next year at 18.5625 trillion won, which is 306.1 billion won (1.6%) less than this year's budget. The total government R&D budget, including the Ministry of Science and ICT's R&D budget, was finalized at 26.5 trillion won. Although this is 621.7 billion won more than the government's proposal, it represents a 14.7% decrease compared to this year's budget.

Minister Lee stated, "Although the cut rate has decreased, I believe researchers still feel uncomfortable," and added, "If we get through these difficulties well, I believe our country's research budget and systems can gain significant competitiveness."

Regarding this year's government R&D budget, Minister Lee emphasized 'selection and concentration' by using the example of making a hole in paper with a magnifying glass. He explained, "If you can build scientific and technological competitiveness by making holes, you need to focus to make those holes. If you just enlarge the magnifying glass and place it on the paper, only that part warms up, and when you remove the magnifying glass, it becomes the same as before," using this as a metaphor.

On the issue of personnel expenses for student researchers, he explained that concerns have been somewhat alleviated because the basic research budget, which accounts for most of the personnel expenses, has recovered from a 25% cut per project to about a 10% cut.

Minister Lee also addressed the so-called 'R&D cartel' controversy surrounding the R&D budget proposal. He said, "Neither the President, myself, nor the Ministry of Science and ICT has ever used the term 'cartel' regarding our country's researchers," emphasizing, "We are always grateful because our research level has greatly improved thanks to the dedication and passion of the researchers."

Regarding First Vice Minister Cho Sung-kyung's recent mention of a 'scientific cartel' with eight specific cases at a forum, Minister Lee drew a clear line, saying, "That was purely (Vice Minister Cho's) personal opinion," and "It has not even been discussed internally."

Earlier, on the 12th, Vice Minister Cho attended the 74th Daedeok Innopolis Forum held at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, where he presented the definition of a cartel and eight specific cases. At the time, Vice Minister Cho cited examples such as allocating projects to specific professors or government-funded research institutes continuing research with the same content but only changing the title for several years as cases of cartels.

Minister Lee emphasized, "You cannot follow what an individual says and do something about it," and firmly stated, "There is absolutely no connection between restructuring the R&D budget and any cartel."

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