The First Step of the New 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT is R&D Site... Meeting at Korea Research Foundation

New Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon Visits Korea Research Foundation on 26th
Direct Coordination with Foundation... Checks Projects and Budget with PM
"Innovating Support System for Researchers to Work Freely"

The newly appointed 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT visited the Korea Research Foundation, an R&D (Research and Development) site, as his first official act after taking office to explore innovation plans with the members.

New Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon of the Ministry of Science and ICT / Photo by Hwang Seo-yul chestnut@

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the new 1st Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon inspected the progress of this year's R&D projects and budget execution with the foundation's PMs (Project Managers) at the Korea Research Foundation (hereinafter the Foundation) at 2:30 p.m. on the 26th. He also held a meeting to discuss ways to advance R&D management.

Vice Minister Lee personally arranged the Korea Research Foundation as his first visit immediately after the inauguration ceremony, emphasizing the importance of understanding and diagnosing the research field. This is because the Foundation plays a key intermediary role in delivering government policies and projects to researchers, serving as the frontline of R&D management.

He received reports on the inspection and progress status of ongoing projects managed by the Foundation. For researchers to continuously carry out ongoing R&D projects this year, the Foundation’s project inspection procedures and research fund execution must be prioritized.

He stressed the need to closely observe the research field during the process of planning new projects in emerging and foundational technologies such as bio, quantum, and core technologies that could become future national promising technologies, in line with the government’s R&D restructuring direction, as well as streamlining the R&D budget structure and advancing R&D project processes including planning and evaluation.

Additionally, he discussed the Foundation’s role and development direction regarding research administration and R&D management with PMs, topics that were raised at the 12th Public Discussion on Livelihood held in Daejeon on the 16th. Specifically, he requested the responsible PM of the Frontier Challenge Strategy Center, which is promoting the Korean-style Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) model, to develop a groundbreaking R&D planning and management system. PMs from basic and national policy divisions also exchanged opinions on ways to strengthen expertise for advancing R&D management.

Vice Minister Lee also emphasized the prompt execution of the R&D budget. This is to ensure uninterrupted research activities by researchers and to prevent inconveniences caused by unpaid or delayed wages for students and contract researchers.

He stated, "I hope the Foundation will break away from bureaucratic thinking centered on management and control and always listen attentively to researchers and the field," adding, "I ask that you innovate into a project management support system that prioritizes expertise and allows researchers to conduct research freely, and establish a leading R&D system."

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