SEOUL, June 26 (AJP) - South Korea adopted a new five-year national science and technology blueprint on Friday, pledging to invest more than 200 trillion won ($130 billion) in government-funded research and development through 2030 as the Lee Jae Myung administration seeks to make artificial intelligence the centerpiece of future economic growth.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said the National Science and Technology Advisory Council approved the Sixth Basic Plan for Science and Technology, covering the 2026 - 2030 period.
The plan, the country's highest-level framework for science and innovation policy, marks a sharp shift from the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, whose 2024 budget cuts to government R&D triggered widespread criticism from scientists, universities and research institutes before much of the funding was later restored.
Under the new roadmap, the government identified four strategic priorities: overhauling the national science and innovation system, accelerating AI transformation, promoting technology-led economic growth and ensuring broader social benefits from scientific advances.
The government said it will maintain stable investment of more than 200 trillion won in public R&D over the next five years while strengthening centralized coordination of science policy under the science and technology deputy prime minister.
Universities will receive expanded performance-based block funding, while government-funded research institutes will move further away from the long-criticized Project-Based System (PBS) toward mission-oriented operations. Companies will receive customized R&D support tied to different stages of business growth.
Artificial intelligence features prominently throughout the plan.
The government said it will introduce AI-assisted research tools and autonomous laboratories across scientific disciplines, expand AI-based public services and continue developing sovereign foundation models. It also pledged investment in physical AI, quantum technologies, next-generation AI systems and computing infrastructure, including networks, data and cybersecurity.
In strategic industries, Seoul plans to invest more than 60 trillion won over five years in national strategic technologies, including semiconductors, biotechnology, aerospace and defense.
The government also aims to strengthen commercialization by expanding technology-transfer programs, venture financing and public-private innovation partnerships.
Regional development forms another pillar of the strategy. The government will expand locally managed R&D funding, foster region-specific industries and strengthen science-driven healthcare, renewable energy and advanced nuclear technologies.
By 2030, the government aims to increase the number of globally influential researchers from 76 to more than 100, raise AI service usage to above 70 percent from 44.5 percent and narrow South Korea's technology gap with the world's leading countries from 2.8 years to less than two years.
The new strategy reflects President Lee's broader effort to restore government support for science after his predecessor's emphasis on fiscal discipline.
Former President Yoon's administration drew heavy backlash in 2023 after proposing one of the largest reductions in government R&D spending in decades, arguing that research funding had become inefficient and required structural reform. Universities, researchers and industry groups warned that the cuts threatened basic research and long-term technological competitiveness, prompting the government to partially reverse course in subsequent budgets.
Lee has since pledged record levels of research spending while positioning AI as a new engine of economic growth, saying sustained investment in science and technology is essential for South Korea's future competitiveness.
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