Ku Hyeok-chae (구혁채), first vice minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, on April 16 chaired a Chungcheong-area meeting in Daejeon on the fifth basic plan for fostering and supporting science and technology talent for 2026 to 2030. The meeting was held at Chungnam National University.

The basic plan is the top statutory plan in the science and technology talent field established under the Special Act on Support for Science and Engineering to strengthen national science and technology competitiveness. It will be finalised within the first half of this year.

The ministry is actively gathering views from the field to draw up a basic plan that the public can feel. As part of that effort, it is pushing ahead with in-person regional meetings after an online survey.

A range of participants based in the Chungcheong region attended the meeting. They discussed issues felt in the field, including burdens from administrative work, limits on pursuing challenging and long-term research, career instability, a lack of research infrastructure and better treatment.

Ku said, "Today, fostering and securing science and technology talent is a key task that is directly linked to national competitiveness." He added, "I will actively reflect these valuable views in the policy tasks of the basic plan."