The Ministry of Science and ICT is launching a large-scale, pan-national project to tackle national grand challenges by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across the spectrum of science and technology research.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 27th that it held a launch ceremony for the "K-Moonshot Project" at the Dragon City Hotel in Seoul with officials from related ministries and representatives from industry, academia, and research in attendance, and appointed 12 program directors (PDs) to lead the 12 national missions. At the event, the "K-Moonshot Steering Group," an inter-ministerial control tower, also launched.
The K-Moonshot Project aims to aggressively adopt AI in science and technology to double research productivity by 2030 and solve core problems needed for a leap in national competitiveness by 2035. Key missions include accelerating new drug development tenfold, commercializing brain implants, developing and demonstrating a Korean small fusion pilot reactor and power verification, securing and demonstrating foundational technologies for a space data center, and internalizing general-purpose physical AI models and computing.
The selection process for PDs by mission was carried out led by the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) and the Institute of Information & communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), and final selections were completed on the 21st.
The mission PDs include Nam Jin-woo, professor at Hanyang University for new drugs; Cho Il-joo, professor at Korea University for brain-computer interfaces (BCI); Shin Hyun-jung, professor at Sungkyunkwan University for solar cells; Yang Hyung-ryeol, head of Innovative Fusion Reactor Design Division at Korea institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) for fusion; Lee Dong-hyung, head of the Molten Salt Reactor Fundamental Technology Development Program at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) for small modular reactor (SMR) ships; and Yeo Jun-gu, CEO of Daedong Robotics, for humanoids.
In addition, for physical AI, Kim Uk, project manager (PM) at the Institute of Information & communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP); for space, Lee Chun-woo, head of the Space Exploration Research Center at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI); for materials, Lee Sang-kwan, principal researcher at the Korea institute of Materials Science (KIMS); for AI scientists, Lee Min-hyung, CEO of Asteromorph; for semiconductors, Kim Ji-young, professor at Seoul National University; and for quantum, Lee Soon-chil, professor at KAIST, will each take charge.
The K-Moonshot Steering Group will be headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT as Director General, overseeing the project as a whole. The steering group will review each PD's mission performance and support mission execution through policy coordination with related ministries and cooperation in research and development. The Ministry of Science and ICT formed the initial steering group earlier this year with ministries that expressed willingness to cooperate, and plans to expand participation to other necessary ministries as missions progress.
The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to lower inter-ministerial barriers and pool capabilities so that K-Moonshot does not remain at the stage of merely generating ideas but leads to real problem-solving and industrial application. To this end, it will establish a consultative body to coordinate mission-specific directions and key decisions, and will also set up a support system that allows PDs to participate in research and development planning and budgeting.
By mission, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will join the new drug mission; the Ministry of Health and Welfare will join the BCI mission; the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will join the humanoid mission; the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources will join the physical AI mission; the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will join the SMR ship mission; and the Korea AeroSpace Administration will join the space mission as cooperating ministries.
◇ K-Moonshot in full swing… PD-centered steering system and NAIS support activated
At the launch ceremony, following the appointment of the 12 PDs, the background and operating system of the K-Moonshot Project and support plans through the National AI for Science Center (NAIS) were introduced.
Oh Dae-hyun, director-general for future strategic technology policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, explained the K-Moonshot steering system and emphasized, "AI-driven innovation in science and technology means an AI transition across the entire science and technology sector. To achieve this, the capability and culture to use AI at the research site must be formed together." He added, "In K-Moonshot, accelerating AI-based research is key," noting, "Linkage with the National AI for Science Center will play an important role."
There was also an explanation of the PD support system. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to form consultative bodies such as field-specific committees and an operations committee so that the PDs in charge of each mission have real authority and can set direction. In the field-specific committees, the PD will serve as chairperson to discuss mission-specific directions, and the operations committee will include PMs of core and related projects, principal investigators, and Director-level officials from the competent ministries to support decision-making and coordination.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said it moved up the selection process so PDs can participate early in project planning and next year's budgeting. The PDs have been appointed as expert commissioners at the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST), and a plan to convert them into special research fellows through revisions to related regulations will be pursued. In addition, in connection with government-funded research institutes, a system to support PD duties will be established, along with practical support such as dispatching administrative personnel and securing workspace in Sejong.
As for the schedule ahead, establishing detailed mission-specific implementation plans was presented as the most urgent task. Following the PD appointments, the Ministry of Science and ICT will flesh out mission plans to prepare field-specific directions by September, and based on these, proceed with budgeting and approval procedures through the meeting of ministers related to science and technology.
Meanwhile, NAIS will connect and consolidate resources related to science AI, such as training data, computing resources, and AI models. Based on this, it will also push to develop and disseminate an operating system (OS) platform for science AI to boost research productivity.
Yoo Yong-gyun, Director General of the National AI for Science Center, said, "AI is already becoming a core element of scientific research, and there is a need for a hub to bring together dispersed domestic research data, personnel, and computing resources." NAIS plans to build a platform that enables integrated use of graphics processing unit (GPU) resources held by grants-funded institutes and to push work to convert research data into forms usable by AI.
NAIS also presented as key tasks the training of 1,000 "AI pioneers" to lead innovation in science and technology, building a science and technology AI operating system, securing AI-ready datasets, and developing a pilot for autonomous AI scientists. Yoo emphasized, "Our goal is to build a platform that enables a single researcher to produce institute-level results."
Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said, "To get ahead in the AI hegemony race, securing AI competitiveness matters, but above all, what matters is the goal of what we will achieve through AI," adding, "K-Moonshot will not stop at merely combining AI with science and technology, but will be pursued with a sense of mission to solve the problems humanity faces."