The Ministry of Science and ICT will introduce "sensitive projects," a middle category between security-designated projects and general projects, in national research and development (R&D), and expand research institutions' security management obligations.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said the revision to the Enforcement Decree of the National R&D Innovation Act, which contains these measures, passed the Cabinet meeting on the 11th. The revision follows the amendment to the National R&D Innovation Act in February and will take effect starting on the 20th, the law's enforcement date.
The newly introduced sensitive projects will be designated considering national security and diplomatic importance, as well as technological and economic value. While setting a lower level of regulation than existing security-designated projects, separate security procedures will be applied to prevent the overseas leakage of core technical information. The policy will not restrict cooperation itself, such as international joint research.
More institutions will be required to establish mandatory security measures. In addition to institutions carrying out security-designated and sensitive projects, Government-funded research institute (Government-funded research institute)s, specific research institutes, national and public research institutes, and universities receiving 30 billion won or more in annual government research funding will be included.
These institutions must designate a security officer and provide related training, and they must also establish management procedures for foreign nationals' participation in research and for overseas contacts.
Standards for sanctions on research security violations will also be clarified. Acts such as disclosing or leaking the outcomes of security-designated and sensitive projects, failing to comply with orders for security measures, and the transfer of ownership of security-designated project outcomes without prior approval will be defined as research security misconduct. Violations may result in restrictions on participation in national R&D or dispositions such as the imposition of additional monetary sanctions.
From August to September, the Ministry of Science and ICT will hold briefings on the system for universities, Government-funded research institute (Government-funded research institute)s, and specialized agencies, and by October it plans to prepare the National R&D Program Security Guidelines, a set of cross-ministerial common standards, and guidelines for project grade classification. It is also reviewing ways to provide incentives so that researchers conducting security-designated and sensitive projects can focus on core technology research.
Hong Sun-jeong, director general of the Performance Evaluation and Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "Through this legal revision, we have clarified research security management standards and established a security management system that encompasses even potentially important technologies," and added, "We expect this will raise the overall level of research security across national R&D programs by one step."