The Ministry of Science and ICT will reorganize to simultaneously strengthen the cultivation of national strategic technologies and the capacity to respond to cyber incidents. The ministry said a related revision to its organization decree was approved at a Cabinet meeting on the 23rd and will take effect on the 30th.
The major pillars of the overhaul are research and development (R&D) and information security. First, the Research and Development Policy Office will be reorganized to strengthen its "future strategy" function. The existing Public Convergence Research Policy Bureau will be revamped into the Future Strategic Technology Policy Bureau, focusing on discovering and nurturing next-generation growth engines such as advanced bio, clean hydrogen, nuclear fusion, and small modular reactors (SMRs).
Subordinate units will also be adjusted accordingly. The Public Convergence Technology Policy Division will be renamed the Future Strategic Technology Policy Division, serving as a "control tower" that sets the overarching direction for strategic technology policy and links it to R&D projects. In addition, the Advanced Bio Technology Division under the Basic Source Research Policy Bureau will be transferred to the Future Strategic Technology Policy Bureau to further unify the strategic technology promotion system.
The bio sector has clarified the division of roles. A new Bio Convergence Innovation Team will be created to oversee tasks related to biological research resources, and the Advanced Bio Technology Division will be adjusted to focus on developing new technologies. The new team will emphasize full life cycle support from the production to the utilization of bio data.
Support organizations for government-funded research institutes will also be strengthened. The research institute innovation policy function that has supported the institutes will be elevated from a team to the Research Institute Innovation Policy Division. In line with the phased abolition of the Project-Based System (PBS), it will play a role in reorganizing the finance structure of the institutes—currently centered on government-commissioned projects—toward a mission focused on securing national strategic technologies. To strengthen synergy, the placement will be adjusted under the Basic Source Research Policy Bureau.
The cybersecurity framework will also be extensively revamped. In light of ongoing hacking incidents threatening daily life, the Network Policy Office will be renamed the Information Security Network Policy Office and its functions strengthened. A Cyber Incident Investigation Team will be newly established for swift investigation and response to incidents, and related personnel will be increased from the current two to five.
The new team will oversee the entire process from analyzing the causes of incidents to responding to incidents, preventing the spread of damage, recovery, and establishing measures to prevent recurrence. By contrast, the existing Cyber Incident Response Division will be refocused as an organization emphasizing "prevention." It will systematize a structure centered on institutions and policies, including operation of information security certification systems such as the Cloud Security Certification (CSAP) and the Information Security Management System (ISMS), and management of major information and communications infrastructure. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it expects this to not only enable timely responses to large-scale incidents, but also significantly strengthen investigation and response support for small and medium-sized enterprises with weaker response capacity.
Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "This organizational overhaul is meaningful in strengthening the capacity to carry out core national policy tasks in the science and technology sector and to respond to information security issues directly tied to people's lives," adding, "We will accelerate efforts so that our strengthened organizational capacity not only secures a lead in future strategic industries amid global competition and builds a foundation for the growth of corporations, but also translates into tangible results that improve people's quality of life."