For the first time in 17 years, the government and the ruling party plan to restore the system of a deputy prime minister for science and technology. The science community welcomed the greater weight of science in government but suggested that, for the system to succeed, it must go beyond simple research and development (R&D) support as in the past and play a role in integrating and coordinating policies at the level of national strategy.
On the 23rd, the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST), The National Academy of Engineering of Korea, and the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) jointly held a forum under the theme "Establishing a deputy prime minister for science and technology: Roles and tasks for technology-led growth."
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea, the government, and the presidential office (the party-government-presidential office) announced on the 7th a government reorganization plan that includes elevating the Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT to the deputy prime minister for science and technology. In 2004, the Ministry of Science and Technology was elevated to a deputy prime minister-level ministry, but the system was abolished in 2008 when it was integrated into the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Experts who delivered keynote presentations at the forum said the revival of the deputy prime minister system is meaningful not as a mere institutional restoration but as a strengthening of overarching and coordinating governance at the national strategy level. An Jun-mo, a public administration professor at Korea University, said, "Technology has established itself not just as a growth engine but as a national security asset or strategic resource," adding, "The deputy prime minister system is not a simple institutional restoration but a governance framework that maximizes national competitiveness in an era of technological sovereignty."
He continued, "The deputy prime minister should orchestrate (coordinate) each ministry's policies to produce strategic effects at the national level," adding, "Now we must shift from simply expanding the scale of R&D to strengthening efficiency and collaborative structures. In particular, as AI regulation and promotion policies clash across ministries, the deputy prime minister should sort out the traffic."
Park Chan-su, vice president of STEPI, said, "Science and technology innovation policy now needs to be oriented around national missions rather than knowledge production itself," adding, "The deputy prime minister should take responsibility for overseeing everything from securing budgets and nurturing talent to allocating strategic technologies."
In particular, he said, "The R&D budget needs to be secured stably so it does not waver even under external shocks," and suggested, "At the national level, the deputy prime minister should stably prepare a certain proportion of finances for the future, and the budget review should be managed through a standing committee dedicated to science and technology so it is not swayed by political fluctuations." He added, "Large-scale government R&D projects should be evaluated not by papers and patent outputs but by their social spillover effects," and "The deputy prime minister should oversee even this performance management system."
Park also said regarding global talent competition, "Nurturing science and technology talent is linked to several ministries, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," adding, "Strategies such as attracting and supporting the settlement of overseas talent should also be overseen by the deputy prime minister at the national level."
Park Su-kyung, vice president of The National Academy of Engineering of Korea (a mechanical engineering professor at KAIST), said, "As competition for technological hegemony in semiconductors, quantum, and AI intensifies, the deputy prime minister should not be a mere coordinator but an innovation control tower that spans industry, basic research, and small and medium-sized enterprise policy," adding, "In particular, as in the response to the crisis over materials, components and equipment or the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we need to institutionalize a system that enables cooperation across ministerial silos."
There was also an opinion that, for the deputy prime minister for science and technology to function properly, an operational system to support the deputy prime minister must be established. Professor An said, "For the deputy prime minister to have real authority, an operational system such as a national governance council must back it up, and the budget authorities between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the innovation headquarters must be clearly organized," adding, "It is necessary to allocate about 5% of the government's R&D budget as a separate budget for the deputy prime minister to induce inter-ministerial cooperation and drive coordination."
Professor Park Su-kyung, pointing out the limits of the past system, said, "During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, the deputy prime minister for science and technology served as a microeconomic control tower, but because authority was limited to R&D budget coordination, there was a policy mismatch," adding, "This time, based on the consensus that the R&D budget alone is not enough, we should build cooperative governance that transcends ministries."
Meanwhile, drawing attention at the forum was Yoo Sang-im, a Seoul National University professor who served as the last Minister of the science ministry in the previous government. In a comment from the floor, Yoo said, "Amid an AI great transition that is changing the landscape of science and technology, I have believed a deputy prime minister for science and technology in the control tower role is necessary," adding, "Communication among ministries is difficult now, and the deputy prime minister needs to exercise leadership for inter-ministerial communication for the system to succeed. At the same time, science and technology diplomacy for global cooperation is also important."