KAIST Global Center for Development and Strategy메인으로 이동

1. Research Background and Rationale • South Korea’s national research and development (R&D) budget for 2024 was reduced by 14.8% year-on-year to KRW 26.5 trillion. At the same time, funding for international cooperation was expanded, reflecting rapid and far-reaching changes in the country’s R&D policy and budget structure. • These changes—including the restructuring of the R&D budget and a broader shift in the policy paradigm—were implemented rapidly through a government-led process, without sufficient agenda-setting or policy formulation. This has led to considerable disruption within the research community and raised concerns over policy inconsistency. Key stakeholders, including universities and government-funded research institutes, have faced various uncertainties and institutional challenges in planning research projects and pursuing international cooperation. • Against this backdrop, this study aims to assess the short- and long-term impacts of these policy changes on research institutions and individual researchers and to identify policy options for mitigating their adverse effects. 2. Research Methods and Progress • The study conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 16 major government-funded research institutes and supporting organizations actively engaged in international cooperation: the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST), Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), Green Technology Center (GTC), Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO), Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE), and Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT). A quantitative analysis of joint research activities across government-funded research institutes is also underway. • The institutions were selected based on the following criteria: the presence of dedicated organizational structures and infrastructure for international cooperation; the size of their annual international cooperation budgets or the share of international cooperation within their total R&D expenditure; and their representativeness in major technological fields. • The study also examines the distinct types and characteristics of international cooperation pursued by each institution, including resource- and infrastructure-oriented cooperation, standards- and norms-oriented cooperation, and technology acquisition-oriented cooperation. By reviewing major challenges and exemplary practices, the study seeks to identify the structural factors that undermine the effectiveness of the international research cooperation system. 3. Policy Recommendations and Future Plans • The study is developing policy recommendations in areas including the establishment of a legal and institutional foundation for a long-term international cooperation strategy, the strengthening of a whole-of-government coordination mechanism, improvements to researcher incentive systems, and the creation of a global research cooperation registry. • Based on the findings of this empirical analysis, a policy report and a policy brief are scheduled for publication in the first half of 2026.