South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT held a public hearing on Feb. 25 at L Tower in Seoul to prepare a draft of the "2027 National Research and Development Investment Direction and Standards."

Under the Framework Act on Science and Technology, the national R&D investment direction and standards are set annually and lay out the fields and direction for priority investment in the following year's government research and development (R&D) budget. They are used as guidelines for allocating and adjusting the government R&D budget.

The hearing was held to broadly gather views from industry, academia, researchers and the public before drawing up the 2027 investment direction draft. The ministry used both online and offline formats to improve access.

At the hearing, the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters at the ministry presented key discussion items related to the 2027 government R&D investment. In the first session, the main contents of the 2027 investment direction draft and presentations by key fields were delivered. The second session featured a discussion and a question-and-answer segment involving participants on site and researchers.

The ministry will flesh out the 2027 investment direction draft based on the discussions at the hearing and additional input. After hearing views from relevant ministries, it will notify the budget office and relevant ministries of the 2027 national R&D investment direction and standards by March 15, following deliberation and approval by the steering committee of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council.

Park In-kyu (박인규), head of the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters, said, "We will faithfully reflect the opinions presented in next year's investment direction so that the government R&D budget can be invested on time where it is truly needed."