Following the announcement to abolish the research project-centered operation (PBS) system of government-funded research institutes, the Public Science and Technology Research Labor Union and the National Scientific and Technological Research Workers' Union welcomed it, while the Ministry of Science and ICT noted that it was still an undecided matter and took a cautious stance.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Science and ICT clarified through a press release that the direction of the reform of the PBS system has not yet been finalized and pointed out that a more cautious approach is needed. The ministry announced, "We plan to actively gather opinions from the research field and prepare concrete measures to transition the financial structure of government-funded research institutes in the science and technology sector to a mission-centered model."
The PBS system, which allowed government-funded research institutes to win national research and development (R&D) projects through competition, has been implemented since 1996. It allocated part of the budget to solve research projects won from external sources. However, it faced criticism for inducing excessive competition and a focus on short-term results in research.
The Presidential Committee on Policy Planning announced the abolition of the PBS system after joint review by the Economic 1st and 2nd Subcommittees on the 29th. Twenty-four government-funded research institutes under the Social Science Research Council will abolish the PBS system beginning in 2026 and transition to a government grant-centered operational framework.
The Ministry of Science and ICT adopted a more cautious approach for 23 government-funded research institutes under the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST). It plans not to abolish the PBS immediately but to transition to a mission-centered system over the next five years. Specifically, starting next year, funds from the completion of government-entrusted projects will be allocated as contributions. This is expected to channel approximately 500 billion won annually into the planning of large-scale mission-centered projects.
The government plans to simultaneously pursue structural reforms in the distribution system for the contributions of government-funded research institutes, establish multi-ministerial evaluation and integrated performance management systems, and revise the researcher compensation system during this transition process. Measures will also be developed to strengthen comprehensive research functions in the medium to long term, improve research environments, and enhance research quality.
The Public Science and Technology Research Labor Union expressed its hope on the 29th that "the abolition of the PBS system and the reform of the researcher compensation system will serve as a historical opportunity to develop government-funded research institutes into the world's leading basic and original technology research organizations."
The union asserted, however, that "preparing properly for the post-PBS era is crucial," stating, "It is fundamentally necessary to establish a research council system and create democratic procedures for planning and selecting research projects to prevent the authority over research and development funding from being concentrated in specific vested interests." It also added, "The government must adhere to the overarching principle of 'supporting but not interfering.'"
The National Scientific and Technological Research Workers' Union stated on the 30th that "this is a historic turning point for normalizing government-funded research institutes and a first step toward fundamentally normalizing the science and technology ecosystem," urging that "the transition process after the PBS should not just be a formal institutional change, but that it must lead to substantial structural reforms that ensure researchers' autonomy and stability as well as improvements in treatment such as wages and welfare, in order to solve the problems in the research field, and we strongly urge the government to listen more closely to the voices from the field and actively communicate with researchers."