South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Feb. 2 it will hold an "Integrated Briefing on 2026 R&D Programmes for the Research Industry Sector" on Feb. 4 at SpaceShare near Seoul Station.

The briefing will provide information needed to apply for 2026 tasks for three projects: promoting the research industry, strengthening the technological competitiveness of domestically made research equipment, and developing and commercialising core technologies for innovative research equipment. The ministry plans 14.2 billion won in new support for the three projects.

Under the research industry promotion programme, the ministry will provide 5.7 billion won for 47 new tasks to build the technological capabilities of research industry companies. This year it will establish a "track linked to attracting private investment" and support 20 new tasks with 1.5 billion won. It will provide 2.7 billion won for 20 new tasks to support R&D service companies by growth stage, 900 million won for four new tasks to foster prototyping specialist companies, and 600 million won for three new tasks to support research management companies.

The core technology development and commercialisation programme for innovative research equipment is a new programme to be launched in 2026. It will begin with 18 new tasks worth a total of 4.5 billion won to develop core source technologies for research equipment centred on strategic technology areas based on future demand, and to support commercialisation development such as replacing foreign products and expanding into other fields.

The programme to strengthen the technological competitiveness of domestically made research equipment will invest 4.0 billion won in 17 new tasks to support the localisation of research equipment, in a push to support demand-based scale-up of domestic research equipment.

For the briefing, the ministry plans to collect questions in advance during pre-registration to ensure sufficient answers are provided. The projects covered by the briefing have been announced sequentially since last month on Jan. 20.

Eun-young Lee (이은영), director general for research outcomes and innovation at the ministry, said it will actively support the research industry, including R&D services and research equipment, so it can boost competitiveness in the market by strengthening private-sector R&D support capabilities.