Korea Science and Technology Promotion Association Surpasses 150 Billion KRW in Science and Technology Development Incentive Fund Reserves

The Science and Technology Development Incentive Fund for the welfare of researchers at government-funded research institutes has surpassed 150 billion KRW after 14 years of operation.

The Korea Science and Technology Promotion Association (Chairman Kim Seongsu) announced on the 27th that it will allocate 14.9 billion KRW to the Science and Technology Development Incentive Fund in 2023. Accordingly, the cumulative amount of the Science and Technology Development Incentive Fund will increase from 13.6 billion KRW in 2022 to 151.6 billion KRW.

The Science and Technology Development Incentive Fund is a system in which the Association manages 301 billion KRW, sourced from government contributions and technology fees, and uses the returns to provide additional support to the retirement pensions of researchers at government-funded research institutes. Since the system's implementation in 2009, the Association has annually allocated the development incentive fund to individuals at around 1.0% of the total wage amount.

The amount allocated to the development incentive fund is determined annually by the Pension Deliberation Committee, considering the investment returns and the sustainability of the system.

According to the Association, in 2023, 489 retirees from government-funded research institutes who received the development incentive fund upon retirement received an average of 13.55 million KRW along with their retirement pensions.

Chairman Kim Seongsu stated, “We will manage and operate the Science and Technology Personnel Pension and Development Incentive Fund system stably to ensure a secure retirement life for science and technology personnel.”