The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Office of Planning and Budget discussed next year's research and development (R&D) investment strategy.

The ministry and the budget office on April 30 held a 2027 R&D budget strategy meeting chaired by Park In-kyu (박인규), head of the Science and Technology Innovation Office. Under the Framework Act on Science and Technology, the Innovation Office each year prepares by the end of June a plan to allocate and adjust the following year's national R&D project budget after deliberation and approval by the National Science and Technology Advisory Council. The budget office compiles this to draw up the final government budget bill.

The Innovation Office has shared investment directions with ministries, departments and agencies through an annual R&D budget strategy meeting. This year, the Innovation Office and the budget office jointly held the meeting to strengthen cooperation on R&D budget formulation. About 30 ministries, departments and agencies carrying out R&D projects took part.

Next year, the government will allocate and prepare related budgets from an integrated national perspective to raise the efficiency and consistency of government R&D investment. It will expand collaboration centered on shared goals and strengthen inter-ministerial collaborative R&D to support technology convergence and the creation and spread of outcomes.

It will restructure government R&D by linking efficiency measures such as spending restructuring with reinvestment. Funds secured in this way will be invested intensively in priority R&D areas. The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that it will base the approach on the 2027 budget formulation guidelines deliberated and approved by the Cabinet in March, while considering the particularities of R&D.

The Innovation Office, the budget office and about 30 government ministries, departments and agencies will consult closely to push ahead with spending restructuring. The spending restructuring sets a benchmark of 15 percent for discretionary spending and 10 percent for mandatory spending across all fiscal projects.

The government will pursue a "National Strategic Technology Leading NEXT Project" in line with the "direction for advancing the national strategic technology system" and support efforts such as securing industrial leadership and preempting future innovative technologies. Target projects will be specified through a project promotion conference to be held in May.

For R&D projects, the Innovation Office will lead an across-the-board strengthening of evaluations and inspections and reflect the results in the relevant budgets and project structures. It will streamline inefficient projects and reorganize around areas with high potential to produce outcomes. It will also move away from R&D support centered on grants and introduce a government equity-investment approach that allows investment recovery.

Park said, "We will thoroughly block factors that lead to waste so that the people's taxes are not spent carelessly, while boldly investing in areas that are truly necessary to prepare a performance-oriented budget from which all citizens can benefit."

Kim Tae-gon (김태곤), director-general for economic budget review at the budget office, stressed, "The 2027 budget bill plans to concentrate fiscal investment on key areas linked to an industrial paradigm shift and securing national strategic technologies." He added, "We will strengthen communication with research sites and continue to pursue cooperation with the Ministry of Science and ICT and related ministries."