The government will significantly strengthen its strategy for nurturing and attracting talent to enhance the competitiveness of future science and technology. This includes expanding scholarships and research grants, as well as introducing new methods to attract outstanding researchers from abroad.
The Ministry of Science and ICT held the 21st Future Talent Special Committee on the 25th, where it deliberated and voted on the implementation plan for the 4th basic plan for nurturing and supporting science and technology talent in 2025. This year, the government will inject a total of 9.28 trillion won into the nurturing and support of science and technology talent, an increase of 1.4506 trillion won compared to last year.
The government will increase the scholarships provided to outstanding science and engineering students from 50.7 billion won to 57.3 billion won, and the number of recipients of research grants for doctoral students will more than double from 1,122 to 2,281. Additionally, the 'Science and Technology Expert Officer Master's Track' will be newly established, and support for individual basic research will also be expanded.
In particular, the government will focus on supporting the cultivation of research personnel for master's and doctoral programs in national strategic technology fields such as next-generation semiconductors, secondary batteries, and quantum technology, as well as advanced industries. Education programs tailored for nurturing artificial intelligence (AI) talent will also be strengthened, centered around science high schools and gifted schools. The scale of the Innovation Academy, aimed at cultivating software (SW) professionals, will also be expanded.
To prevent career interruptions, the government plans to introduce a support system for substitute personnel in research fields and strengthen the flexible work environment for researchers by expanding family-friendly certification institutions.
Strategies to attract outstanding foreign researchers will also be strengthened. A new institutional recruitment model will be introduced to the existing Brain Pool (BP) project, and improvements to the visa system will facilitate foreign researchers' settlement in South Korea. Moreover, plans are in place to continuously support overseas dispatch and international joint research for domestic master's and doctoral researchers.
The government will also promote a local government-led university support system (RISE) and designate up to 10 glocal universities to establish a region-centered research ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the results of a survey on the status of foreign graduate students in science and engineering and Korean students studying abroad, conducted for the first time, were also disclosed during this meeting.
As of last year, the number of foreign graduate students in science and engineering residing in the country was recorded at 29,187. Of this number, 20,186 were pursuing undergraduate studies, and 9,001 were in graduate studies. Most students came from Vietnam (25.1%), followed by China (24.5%) and Uzbekistan (9.7%).
Korean science and engineering students studying abroad total 29,770, of which 9,332 are in graduate studies. The main countries of residence are the United States (44.9%), Japan (13.9%), and Canada (11.8%).
Additionally, the committee reviewed and approved the '2025 Plan for the Recognition and Support of Science and Technology Contributors,' which outlines plans for honoring science and technology contributors.
Based on this implementation plan, the government aims to create a world-class science and technology talent ecosystem and establish a virtuous cycle structure for outstanding talent both domestically and internationally.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it held the 21st Future Talent Special Committee meeting on the 25th, where it deliberated and voted on the '4th Basic Plan for Nurturing and Supporting Science and Technology Talent in 2025.'