South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT has newly selected 4 international joint research projects involving domestic research institutes and institutions in the United States, Germany and Japan.

The ministry said on Monday it has confirmed the results of new selections for the 2026 project to build cooperation platforms among 'top-tier' research institutes and support joint research, and will begin providing support to 4 consortia of domestic and overseas research institutions.

The top-tier programme supports leading domestic and overseas research institutes in building mid- to long-term cooperation systems through joint research, personnel exchanges and information sharing. It aims to develop leading technologies and help solve international common problems such as the climate crisis and infectious diseases. Each project will receive 2.3 billion won a year in research and development funding for 10 years.

The newly selected projects include semiconductor inspection and metrology research by Seoul National University and the California Institute of Technology, and research on quantum functional materials by Pohang University of Science and Technology and the Max Planck Institute.

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) and Japan's National Institute for Physiological Sciences will study ion channels related to rare and intractable neurological diseases. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Caltech will develop circular chemistry technology to convert chemical industry byproducts into high value-added products and materials.

The ministry is also supporting 4 existing projects carried out since 2024 with research institutes in the United States, Japan and Belgium, among others. As of January this year, it has produced results including 103 Science Citation Index (SCI)-level papers and 86 personnel exchanges at home and abroad.

Hwang Sung-hoon (황성훈), director general for international cooperation at the ministry, said: "We will provide support so the selected international consortia can create achievements that will leave a big mark on the global science and technology community."