South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Wednesday it has newly selected 11 centres as leading research centres under its 2026 basic research programme.

The leading research centre programme is a mid- to large-scale joint research support scheme launched in 1990 to strengthen collaborative research within universities and links among industry, academia and research institutions. About 8 to 13 researchers take part to conduct convergence- and collaboration-based basic research and foster talent.

This year, 11 centres were selected: 4 in science, 3 in engineering and 4 in basic medical science. Each centre will receive 1.5 billion to 2.2 billion won a year in research funding for 7 years starting in July.

In science, the selected centres were Seoul National University's Mathematical Algorithms and Security Research Centre, Pusan National University's Quantum Phononics Research Centre, Chung-Ang University's Chromosome System and Dynamics Research Centre, and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology's Plant Fruit Growth Research Centre.

In engineering, the selected centres were Yonsei University's Copolymer Cyclic System Research Centre, Seoul National University's Trusted Distributed Physical System Research Centre, and University of Seoul's High-Value Conversion of Waste Resources with Environmental Load Research Centre.

In basic medical science, the selected centres were Catholic University's Tumour Evolution-Environment System Research Centre, Seoul National University's Neural Dynamics-Based Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Centre, Ajou University's Neurocontinuum Centre, and Pusan National University's Korean Medicine-Based Leading Convergence Neuromodulation Research Centre.

The ministry said leading research centres publish about 3,500 SCI papers each year. Their citation count is about 1.5 times the national average. The ministry presented designation certificates and plaques to the newly designated leading research centres on Wednesday.

Kim Sung-soo (김성수), director-general for research and development policy at the ministry, said, "We will actively support the leading research centres so they can grow into outstanding research groups with world-class competitiveness under long-term and stable research conditions."