Hong Won-hwa, the president of the Korea Research Foundation, stated in his 2025 New Year's address that he would secure the nation's growth engine by building a national research and development (R&D) ecosystem centered around universities.
In his New Year's address on the 31st, President Hong noted, "Establishing a national R&D ecosystem centered around universities, which are hubs of knowledge and innovation, is essential," adding, "I will focus on securing future technological leadership through research clustering that encompasses resource, industry, and research, equipped with a talent cultivation system and advanced research infrastructure."
He said, "We will move away from the existing one-off and fragmented research project structure by expanding support through block funding and disseminating innovative challenge-type R&D," and stated, "I will promote the advancement of an autonomous, challenging, and sustainable R&D system."
He added, "The Regional Innovation Center University Support System (RISE) marks the beginning of the local leap era, starting with its first groundbreaking in 2025," and emphasized, "I will play a role in spreading performance management capabilities to local communities and serve as a facilitator for a new paradigm of a region-centered era."
He declared that global R&D would serve as an R&D hub utilizing an overseas-based global network, leveraging this year's membership in Horizon Europe. President Hong noted, "By expanding global training programs, we will enhance the international competitiveness of researchers," and stated, "We will gain the trust of researchers through a fair and transparent evaluation system."
Finally, he said, "I will serve employees through 'servant leadership' so that researchers' abilities and passions can bloom," adding, "Just as cicadas shed their shells and snakes shed their skins to be renewed, I hope that 2025 will be a year of growth and development for everyone."