The Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 1st it finalized the "2026 comprehensive implementation plan for research and development projects," totaling 8.1188 trillion won, and will move ahead in earnest with next year's research and development (R&D) programs.
The plan bundles the direction and execution plans for R&D under the Ministry of Science and ICT in 2026, covering 6.4402 trillion won for science and technology and 1.6786 trillion won for information and communications and broadcasting (ICT). The support scale rose about 25.4% from a year earlier.
First, in strategic technologies, the ministry will increase investment in future promising technologies such as bio and quantum, and focus on developing fundamental technologies in so-called ultra-gap fields such as semiconductors, displays, and secondary batteries. It will also strengthen investment in nano and materials technologies and future energy to target responses to the global supply chain, energy demand, and climate change. It will continue to support challenge-driven research and convergence research, and said it will expand ways to apply artificial intelligence (AI) to science and technology research by using AI models to advance strengths and solve hard problems.
Strengthening the "R&D base," including basic research, talent, and research infrastructure, was also included as a key task. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it will support researcher growth by restoring basic research, extending research periods, and expanding follow-up studies on high-performing projects to build a predictable and sustainable basic research ecosystem. It also includes plans to expand support for cultivating master's and doctoral-level advanced talent and to increase the number of universities participating in the science and engineering research living allowance program from 35 in 2025 to at least 50 in 2026. The ministry will also pursue the introduction of a national scientist system and expand programs to attract outstanding overseas talent.
Plans to expand large-scale research infrastructure were also presented. Key tasks cited include the groundbreaking of the multi-purpose synchrotron radiation accelerator, upgrades to the Pohang synchrotron and the proton accelerator, the establishment of a campus research building at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), and the build-out of the sixth supercomputing system.
In terms of spreading outcomes, the ministry said it will shift the regional R&D system from a centrally led model at the city and provincial level to a regional autonomy model based on the "five hubs and three specialties." It will expand support for deep-tech startups, such as researcher-manager cooperative ventures, and said it will also support research and development for public on-site services in police, tariff, and justice, as well as research and development in disaster and safety. On international cooperation, the plan includes paying the financial contribution under the association agreement for associate membership in Horizon Europe and operating a dedicated body to support participating researchers, as well as expanding joint research and exchanges with top overseas research institutions.
Detailed investment directions related to the "national AI grand transformation" were also presented separately. The Ministry of Science and ICT defined AI, AI semiconductors, and quantum as the "AX engine," and said it will launch efforts to develop next-generation foundational AI technologies and secure leading technologies in physical AI. The plan also includes advancing low-power AI semiconductors, achieving self-reliance in AI computing technologies based on domestic NPUs, and supporting the commercialization of quantum communications and quantum sensors and the localization of quantum process technologies.
In digital infrastructure, the ministry will strengthen cyber defense investments by securing leadership in next-generation communications such as AI-based networks, 6G, and low-Earth-orbit satellite communications, and by embedding AI security and transitioning to post-quantum cryptography. On talent development, it will expand support for specialized graduate schools in strategic fields, such as launching AX graduate schools, link R&D centered on early-career researchers, promote industry-academia joint research, and attract overseas AI researchers. It will also launch large-scale R&D to build AX innovation bases in four regions—Honam, Daegyeong, Dongnam, and Jeonbuk—establishing R&D and demonstration hubs in Gwangju and Daegu, and securing specialized physical AI technologies for manufacturing in Gyeongnam and Jeonbuk.
Along with the budget increase, the ministry also presented institutional improvement measures. In science and technology, it will pursue "data-based R&D management" by organizing domestic and overseas project information and research performance data to conduct quantitative analysis first in project planning and policy making. To promote the production, management, and sharing of national research data, it will strengthen the establishment of data management plans (DMP) for each project and compliance checks. To encourage challenge-driven research, it will prepare evaluation criteria centered on challenge and integrity and simplify research administration procedures, while also expanding English-language calls so that returning overseas researchers or overseas researchers active in Korea can participate more easily. It will also expand contests and competitions from the planning stage to increase public participation and will parallel measures to strengthen research ethics and research security.
In ICT, the ministry proposed lowering administrative burdens by reducing required documents for project application and execution from 13 to 10 and imposing length limits on submissions. The plan also includes abolishing evaluation grades so that the intent of research with ambitious goals can be reflected even if results are not immediate. In addition, it said it will pilot the use of Generative AI across the full planning, evaluation, and management cycle of ICT R&D to improve efficiency and quality.
In line with the finalized comprehensive implementation plan, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the schedules for new programs and projects as of Jan. 2 and said it will provide details such as call timing and procedures at a joint government R&D briefing to be held in January.