Vice Premier and Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon on the 13th issued an official apology for the damage that occurred at research sites due to research and development (R&D) budget cuts during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. He said he would restore the broken research ecosystem by expanding basic research budgets and improving systems.
At the National Assembly Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee audit held at the Government Complex Sejong that day, Vice Premier Bae said, after Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Hwang Jeong-a urged measures to prevent a recurrence by saying, "Please show sincerity through a genuine apology and innovation by the Ministry of Science and ICT," "I apologize to everyone who suffered damage due to the R&D budget cuts," and added, "We will ensure that such a situation is never repeated."
He said, "We recognize that the domestic research ecosystem has been seriously damaged by the R&D budget cuts," adding, "In particular, young and early-career researchers suffered greatly." He added, "In 2026, we will significantly expand the basic research budget to swiftly restore the collapsed research foundation."
Hwang said, "In 2024, the number of applicants for job-seeking benefits among natural and life science research positions and information and communications and engineering technology positions was 28,092, up 30.6% from a year earlier," pointing out, "Among them, early-career and young researchers in their 30s or younger numbered 4,662, accounting for 73% of the total." He interpreted this as an aftereffect of the R&D budget cuts and demanded practical countermeasures from the government.
Vice Premier Bae said, "We will also push, in consultation with the National Assembly, for legislation to require that a certain percentage or more of the R&D budget be invested in basic research." In his earlier opening remarks, he also said, "For 2026, we have drawn up a government R&D budget of 35.3 trillion won, the largest ever," adding, "To improve the efficiency of R&D investment, we will revamp systems to be researcher-centered, and we will abolish the government-funded research institutes (PBS) system and completely overhaul the performance evaluation framework."
At the audit that day, questions also continued over the background of the 2023 R&D budget cuts. When Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Noh Jong-myeon asked, "An internal document from the Ministry of Science and ICT has been confirmed stating that then Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok ordered the R&D budget to be set at around 10 trillion won. Should this be seen as a direct order from the presidential office to cut the budget?" Vice Premier Bae replied, "That's right."
He also said that the adoption, after the budget cuts, of a "brick-by-brick approach that gradually adds budget only to projects with validity" was "led by (the former vice premier), to my knowledge."