Competition among major advanced countries such as Europe and Japan to attract scientific and technological talent who have left the U.S. due to funding cuts and large-scale personnel reductions under the Trump administration is intensifying. In response, Korea's scientific and technological community is initiating discussions to promote the return of Korean scientists abroad and the attraction of outstanding foreign talent to the country.
Kim Min-soo, acting president of the Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies, said at the '2nd Meeting of the Talent Powerhouse in Science and Engineering' held on the 2nd at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam, Seoul, 'Since 24% of domestic Ph.D. graduates are foreigners, it is necessary to expand foreign students as research personnel,' and added, 'To encourage foreign talent to choose Korea and to bring back Korean scientists who have gone abroad, we must provide a global-level environment, including research funding, family settlement, living conditions, and various career opportunities.'
The Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies and The Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) have been holding two meetings since the 26th of last month to collect opinions from the scientific community and discuss measures to secure domestic talent and prevent talent outflow. The first meeting was held under the theme 'Establishing a Comprehensive Growth System for Domestic Science and Engineering Talent,' while the second meeting focused on discussing ways to facilitate the return and attraction of outstanding foreign talent.
Oh Hyun-hwan, head of the Policy Planning Division at the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), explained, 'In the last five years, about 930 outstanding foreign talents have entered the country, of which 68.7% are foreign researchers and 20% are Korean scientists living abroad,' adding, 'Currently, foreign talent is filling the spots left by excellent personnel who have left the country.'
He further noted, 'In a survey targeting domestic personnel such as master's and doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers studying abroad, about 60% showed an intention to return to Korea,' emphasizing the need for a strategic approach on how to attract and utilize various groups, including domestic students, overseas Korean scientists, and top-tier researchers from abroad. He added, 'Improving working conditions, research funding autonomy, and job stability are more important factors than salary.'
Professor Yoo Jae-young from the Department of Semiconductor Convergence Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, who returned to Korea after completing his postdoc at Northwestern University in the U.S., said, 'The reluctance of domestic talent studying abroad to return to Korea is due to limited options rather than just salary issues.' He added, 'In Korea, the opportunities given to scientists are mainly limited to national research institutes and universities, but it would be great if opportunities were also opened for direct involvement in the industry.'
In fact, Korea's attractiveness to foreign talent has been increasing recently. While the number of foreign students entering Korea has consistently lagged behind the number of Korean students studying abroad, it surpassed this number in 2020 and has continued to lead since then.
The government of Lee Jae-myung is also discussing policies to attract both domestic and international talent to Korea. The existing 'Brain Pool Plus' program has been expanded to 'Brain to Korea,' signaling an intention to gather outstanding talent to Korea, regardless of nationality. This initiative aims to realize the goal of making Korea a powerhouse for scientific and technological talent where top-tier talent can grow and gather.
However, opinions have emerged in the research field indicating that it is important to establish a support system for settlement after attracting talent. While talent attraction is important, there must be a system in place to ensure that they can settle in well and dedicate themselves to research.
Sim Si-bo, head of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), shared the case of foreign researcher Andreas J. Heinrich, who entered as the head of an IBS research team in 2017 from the U.S. Heinrich, who wanted to focus on basic science research rather than applied research, has been dedicated to research for nine years. However, he pointed out that autonomy in the use of research funds is not sufficiently guaranteed and is becoming increasingly subject to 'micromanagement.'
He also mentioned, 'Group recruitment, which involves moving the entire research team together, is key to successfully settling overseas talent,' and noted that while it works well abroad, it is realistically difficult for bulk hiring to occur in Korea, where open recruitment is the principle.
Lee Chang-won, a senior researcher at the Immigration Policy Research Institute, which acts as a think tank for the Ministry of Justice, stated, 'The five-year stay rate for foreign researchers is only about 30%, and they tend to leave Korea if the working environment, living convenience, and conditions for family settlement are inadequate.' He emphasized that a systematic talent attraction strategy should be developed based on data that can analyze how many overseas researchers are entering the country, in what fields they are active, and how they are moving.