Researchers Lose Jobs Due to Yoon Suk-yeol Administration's R&D Budget Cuts... Unemployed Surge by 30.6%

Assemblywoman Hwang Jeonga of the Democratic Party:
"Impact Concentrated on Early-Career Researchers in Their 20s and 30s"

Statistics have shown that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's cuts to research and development (R&D) budgets have exacerbated the issue of unemployment among researchers. The damage has been especially severe for early-career researchers in their 20s and 30s.

Asia Economy Database

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Assemblywoman Hwang Jeonga of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, on September 22, the number of applicants for job-seeking benefits in natural and life science research positions, information and communications R&D positions, and engineering technology positions totaled 28,092 last year. This represents a 30.6% surge compared to the previous year.

The number of applicants for job-seeking benefits in natural and life science research positions was 6,331, an increase of 25.6% from the previous year. For information and communications R&D and engineering technology positions, the figure was 21,761, up 32.2% over the same period.

The national R&D budget was cut by about 15%, from 31.1 trillion won in 2023 to 26.5 trillion won last year. According to the research community, the impact of these cuts has continued through this year, particularly affecting university laboratories.

By age group, the damage was most pronounced among early-career and young researchers under the age of 40. Last year, 4,662 job-seeking benefit applicants in the natural and life sciences were in their 30s or younger, accounting for 73% of the total. In the information and communications field, 15,283 applicants, or 70% of the total, were in this age group during the same period.

Although the R&D budget has nearly recovered to 30 trillion won this year under the new administration, leading to a slowdown in the increase of unemployed researchers, some point out that the aftereffects are still being felt.

From January to July of this year, there were 3,955 applicants for job-seeking benefits in the natural and life sciences. Assemblywoman Hwang predicts that, when annualized, about 6,780 researchers will lose their jobs this year. This is a 7% increase compared to the previous year. While the rate of increase has slowed, the overall trend has not been reversed.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT formed a task force this month and has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the R&D budget cuts during the previous administration.

Assemblywoman Hwang stated, "President Yoon Suk-yeol's baseless R&D budgetary recklessness has directly threatened the jobs and livelihoods of researchers on the ground," adding, "A thorough investigation must be conducted to protect these individuals, who are the driving force in the era of scientific and technological hegemony. Sufficient financial support and a stable research environment are also essential."

Hwang Jeonga, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

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