"Like US DARPA"... 1.3 Trillion Won Focused Support on 40 Supergap Technologies

Kang Kyung-sung, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is presiding over the "1st Strategic Planning Investment Council" on the 11th at the Ministry of Industry conference room in the Government Sejong Complex. Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

The government has selected 40 technologies across 11 fields including semiconductor displays, secondary batteries, future mobility, core materials, and intelligent robots, and decided to concentrate 1.3 trillion won in research and development (R&D) investment. The plan is to foster breakthrough technologies by adopting the approach of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a cradle of cutting-edge technology.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 11th that it held the first meeting of the 2024 Strategic Planning Investment Council to facilitate private-led R&D strategic planning and investment decision-making. The Strategic Planning Investment Council is a public-private consultative body that discusses innovative R&D investment plans focused on next-generation technologies that are difficult for the private sector to invest in alone.

At the meeting, the agenda items included ▲ plans to promote the breakthrough project ▲ directions for industrial and energy R&D investment in 2025 ▲ selection of preliminary feasibility study targets for industrial and energy R&D in 2024. The direction of the 8th Industrial Technology Innovation Promotion Plan was also discussed as a topic.

The Strategic Planning Investment Council decided to apply the U.S. DARPA model by forming project teams centered on program directors (PDs) for each of the 40 breakthrough projects. The project teams will be fully responsible for managing projects from new business and task planning to evaluation. Separately, about 10 project managers (PMs) per each of the 11 fields, totaling 120, will be selected to monitor and manage project anomalies and discover new tasks.

DARPA, under the U.S. Department of Defense, has developed innovative technologies such as the internet, satellite navigation systems (GPS), voice recognition, and autonomous vehicles, beyond defense technologies. The success factors include maximizing autonomy through a responsible PM system, bold project execution, clear goal setting, and full budget support.

At the meeting, the Strategic Planning Investment Council decided to strengthen investments in breakthrough projects, challenge and innovation-type R&D, critical technologies for supply chain stabilization, common core technologies for digital and green transitions, and growth of emerging researchers in 2025. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s 2025 investment demand survey, the total amount reaches 6.7 trillion won, including on-device artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous manufacturing AI development, electroluminescent display development, and ultra-high-speed communication semiconductor technology development for future vehicles.

The ministry also selected projects to apply for preliminary feasibility studies this year. Among 19 projects with raised demand, 10 projects were reviewed for application within the total annual project scale available this year (around 500 billion won), including Alchemist II, Korean-style hydrogen reduction steelmaking demonstration, next-generation advanced semiconductor technology center, and AI autonomous manufacturing technology development.

Meanwhile, prior to the first meeting, 13 new private members were appointed. They include experts in AI, semiconductors, secondary batteries, displays, bio, mobility, autonomous manufacturing, robots, nuclear power, and renewable energy, as well as policy experts in economics, technology finance, and technological innovation. The members will participate in key decision-making related to industrial and energy R&D investment for two years.

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