A total of 4,628 researchers were selected to newly join the Individual Basic Research Program in the first half of this year. The government said it expanded the number of selections while focusing on supporting early-career researchers, building a foundation for long-term research, and strengthening regional research capacity.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 12th it finalized new projects for core research, early-career research, and the Sejong Science Fellowship (domestic) under the first-half 2026 Basic Research Program (individual research).
The selected projects total 4,628, consisting of 2,558 core research projects, 1,770 early-career research projects, and 300 Sejong Science Fellowship (domestic) projects. That is 914 more than the same tracks last year. Yoon Kyung-sook, director-general for Basic Source Research Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "With the expanded number of selections in the first half of this year, the overall selection rate appears to have nearly doubled from last year."
In this round, the expansion of support for early-career researchers stood out in particular. Early-career Research Type A and B projects increased from 965 last year to 1,687 this year, and the domestic track of the Sejong Science Fellowship also expanded from 200 to 300. The aim is to provide an initial research foundation to researchers with shorter research experience.
Changes were also included to create stable research conditions by extending research periods and increasing support. In early-career research, "Seed Research" was changed from the previous one-year support to three years, and Core Research Type A was expanded from three years with 70 million won annually to five years with 100 million won annually.
The government said it is strengthening a researcher growth system that progresses from the Sejong Science Fellowship to early-career research and then to core research. The Ministry of Science and ICT noted that the actual selection results confirmed cases in which researchers moved from the Sejong Science Fellowship at the postdoctoral level to early-career research and then to core research.
At a briefing, Cho Jong-young, Director of Basic Research Promotion at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "There were 93 cases moving from Sejong to early-career research, 236 cases moving from early-career to core, and 1,072 cases continuing from core to core. We assess that about 1,400 people received projects consecutively," adding, "There are roughly 3,800 completed projects in total, and about 35% can be seen as continuing their research."
Cho added, "Starting next year, we plan to operate the program so that researchers who have completed existing projects can go through a leap-type follow-up project once and then move to another track," and "We will review ways to effectively operate a long-term research track that continues for up to 11 years."
A trend also emerged of supporting foreign researchers to settle in Korea. In the first-half selection review, 114 foreign researchers from 24 countries were selected. That is an increase of 78 from 36 in the same period last year. The government believes improvements in administrative procedures, such as allowing English-language research plan submissions, had an impact.
Of the 4,628 projects selected this time, 2,159 will be carried out in the regions, accounting for 47% of the total. Compared with 1,541 under the same program last year, that is an increase of 618, or 40.1% by proportion. As the number of selected projects increased across regions, observers said the trend of expanding the regional basic research base continued.
The government also plans to select about 2,000 additional basic research projects in the second half. Director Cho said, "In the basic research to be implemented in the second half, we will allocate more than 40% to the regions," adding, "We expect many regional researchers will be able to benefit."
Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "We are pursuing the restoration of the basic research ecosystem and the strengthening of a researcher-centered support system," adding, "We will continue support for the remaining projects in the second half."