Government-funded science and technology research institutes will overhaul their research and development (R&D) business structures around institution-specific core missions following the abolition of the project-based system (PBS). They will shift incentives such as research allowances to focus on research performance and formally establish an umbrella technology licensing office (TLO) to support large technology transfers and deep-tech startups.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said the National Science and Technology Research Council (NST) held its 247th extraordinary board meeting on Monday at the Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies in Seoul and deliberated on and approved "Detailed post-PBS implementation directions for government-funded research institutes to leap into national flagship research institutions."

The steps aim to reduce uncertainty stemming from the abolition of PBS and settle a new research system in the field. The ministry has been reorganising the institutes' research and operating systems around missions through its "policy directions for government-funded research institutes in science and technology" in December last year and its "review of PBS abolition 추진 status and future implementation advancement measures" in June this year.

Each institute will set core missions to concentrate its capabilities on fulfilling national tasks and announce them to the public within the year. It will also draw up an R&D business roadmap and portfolio for carrying out the core missions within this year. Each institute's business structure will be reorganised into basic research, strategic research and exceptional government-commissioned forms. The aim is to move away from a structure dependent on winning individual projects and to run research programmes stably in line with mid- to long-term strategies.

Cooperation among the institutes will also be strengthened. They will set joint goals across the institutes for each core field and build an industry-academia-research cooperation system. They will also activate region-led strategic research projects based on demand from local governments. The appropriateness of each institute's R&D business operation will be reflected in institutional evaluations, and evaluation results will be linked to budgets and incentives. Strategic research projects will have a separate evaluation and management system to raise accountability for achieving missions.

The compensation system will also be changed. Incentives such as research allowances will shift from a method linked to the scale of commissioned projects to a differentiated reward method centred on outstanding results. The government's 2027 budget proposal tentatively reflects a 3.9 percent rate for improving working conditions at the institutes. The government and NST will also pursue a full survey to draw up a plan to improve the pay system to attract top researchers and prevent talent outflows.

The research administration support system will also be revised. Common administrative functions dispersed across institutes will be specialised under NST, while each institute's research support organisation will strengthen close support functions for researchers. Checks will also be 마련 in line with the expansion of NST functions. The plan introduces operational evaluations for newly established organisations and expands internal and external audits. It will regularise personnel exchanges between NST and the institutes and build a system to reflect field feedback in policy through regular panel surveys.

Technology commercialisation functions will also be strengthened. The umbrella TLO will be formally organised to support large technology transfers and deep-tech startups that are difficult for individual institutes to carry out. The ministry will also push institutional improvements needed for commercialisation, such as overhauling conflict-of-interest regulations. Public relations and international cooperation previously conducted by each institute will shift to a joint 대응 method across the institutes.

Separately, the ministry and NST will hold "visiting policy briefings for government-funded research institutes" starting on Tuesday at the Korea Institute of Energy Research. On Sept. 11, they plan to present the implementation directions at a management council of the institutes attended by the NST board and the heads of 23 institutes.

NST Chairman Young-sik Kim (김영식) said, "The success or failure of abolishing PBS depends on how substantively NST and the institutes implement it," adding, "We will support follow-up measures so they are implemented without a hitch."

Hyuk-chae Koo (구혁채), the ministry's first vice minister, said, "It is time for the institutes themselves to innovate so they can carry out core missions that pioneer the future as 'national flagship research institutions'," adding, "The government will continue to communicate with the field to advance policy so the post-PBS system takes root on the ground."