Recently shaking the world, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek was founded by Liang Wenfeng, born in 1985, who has just turned 40. Luo Fuli, known as the core developer of DeepSeek, was born in 1995 and is now 30. Along with the two, DeepSeek is primarily composed of developers and engineers in their '2030s'.
DeepSeek has shown the potential to compete against big tech firms in Silicon Valley without much capital, relying on the strength of young talent. Choi Sang-mok, the acting president and Minister of Strategy and Finance, also noted during a luncheon with young scientists on the 19th, "DeepSeek's development led by young researchers is significant," adding, "I will spare no policy support to ensure that the creative challenges of young scientists can lead the future of Korea."
What does the government need to do to produce a Korean version of DeepSeek? ChosunBiz gathered opinions from young scientists who attended the luncheon with the acting president and those at a public hearing held the same day to prepare the '2026 National Research and Development Investment Direction and Standards'.
◇There are no 30s directors general at IBS... Opportunities differ from abroad
Kim Geun-soo, a professor at Yonsei University’s Department of Physics who attended the acting president's luncheon, stated, "We need to provide exceptional opportunities to young scientists." Born in 1982, Professor Kim was selected last year as a global leader researcher, the highest grade supported by the government’s research and development (R&D) budget. Although in his early 40s, he is already considered a leader in the fields of solid-state physics and condensed matter physics in the country.
Professor Kim said, "When exceptional investments are made, such as assigning leadership research to young researchers, unforeseen good results can emerge explosively," and added, "Recently, as R&D investments have become increasingly conservative, it seems that exceptional opportunities for young researchers are not being offered as much."
He pointed out the lack of young scientists in the positions of director general at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS). The director general of IBS is considered a position where free research is possible without the burden of research funding. Although it is a position where a young scientist could attempt challenging research that no one else has tried, it is mostly held by scientists who have already been recognized for their achievements. Currently, IBS has 30 research groups, among which the youngest director general is 48-year-old Koo Bon-gyeong, head of the Genome Editing Research Group. Most director generals are from the 1960s, making it rare to find a director general from the 90s.
The model IBS looks up to, the Max Planck Institute in Germany, is different. Not only are there director generals in their early 40s, but it is also common to see those in their 30s. In 2023, Kang Sa-ra, a professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), was appointed as the director of the Max Planck Institute for Climate Science at the age of 42. Last year, Cha Mi-young, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), was also appointed as director at the Max Planck Institute at the age of 44. Professor Cha was serving as chief investigator at IBS but was recruited as director at Max Planck.
Professor Kim stated, "The Max Planck Institute in Germany boldly selects young scientists as directors when they see potential," adding, "We need to give opportunities to young scientists to yield research worthy of a Nobel Prize in 10 or 20 years."
Park Sung-jun, a professor at Seoul National University’s Advanced Convergence Studies, who attended the acting president's luncheon, also commented that there had been discussions about the need for large-scale projects that could assist young scientists, noting, "Domestic government R&D projects are divided into group projects and individual projects, and the availability of types of large-scale projects that can support young scientists was addressed; such projects are abundant abroad, but in Korea, they are insufficient, so we hope the government will pay attention."
◇There are too many 'top-down' projects determined by civil servants
Professor Choi Hyung-jin from Seoul National University, who first revealed the principles of obesity treatments, stated during a government-led R&D discussion that it is time to change the 'top-down' structure of government research topic determination.
Professor Choi said, "The backward 'top-down' structure, where the state plans and researchers follow, should be abandoned, and the basic research budget should be opened to autonomous topics so that professors or researchers can propose innovative ideas," adding, "I have participated in government project planning and preliminary feasibility studies, but the planning in a top-down manner is too slow compared to the speed of technological innovation, and everything changes after a few years."
He emphasized, "We have to trust and delegate to researchers, but in Korea, research management agencies contact researchers intermittently, pointing out things like ‘this is wrong’ and ‘that is wrong,’" stating that the government should abandon the leading directive approach.
Another young scientist attending the acting president's luncheon pointed out that the way the government determines research topics is problematic. He stated, "As R&D projects are primarily focused on the 12 strategic technologies, it is difficult for scientists conducting basic research to ensure research diversity." A professor from another university also mentioned, "There should be an increase in bottom-up projects, where researchers set the topics, rather than top-down projects."
◇We need to foster a culture that accepts failure and doesn’t chase trends
There were many criticisms about a research culture and atmosphere that forces success. It is mentioned that failure is inevitable for innovative research, but the domestic R&D system does not allow for failure, leading researchers to conduct only safe research.
Many criticisms regarding this aspect were raised at the discussion hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Lee Hwa-su, a professor at KAIST’s Department of Construction and Environmental Engineering, said, "The word ‘failure’ does not exist for researchers." It is a climate that avoids challenging research projects, as the national R&D success rate exceeds 90% each year. He added, "To enable a system where R&D can allow for failure, we need a system to assess that even if we fail, we can work hard until the end. "
Kim Kyung-hoon, an AI safety leader at Kakao, stated that R&D should proceed in an atmosphere where failure is accepted, saying, "If the existing R&D system has sought balance in terms of ease and equity, to become a first mover, we need to shift the focus towards ease." He further added, "An accumulation of time is essential in R&D, and to achieve this, awareness of the potential for failure must be maintained without getting lost in success."
Kim Se-hee, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, who has worked at LG CHEM and the secondary battery research center, stated, "There had also been mentions during the luncheon with the acting president about the desire for exceptional treatment for researchers' achievements," adding, "There were also calls for clearly establishing roles and responsibilities (R&R) regarding the administrative tasks or support duties of research institutions."