Attempted Talent Exodus from KAIST by China
NIS Confirms Series of Similar Cases
It has been revealed that the Chinese government has launched a large-scale recruitment campaign targeting top domestic science and technology talent. It was confirmed that 149 professors at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) simultaneously received emails from the Chinese government offering an annual salary of 400 million won, housing, and educational support for their children. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has assessed this incident as “not merely a talent recruitment effort, but a state-level attempt to secure core technologies.” As competition in advanced technologies expands into the realm of national security, there are growing calls for urgent measures to prevent the outflow of talent.
Email Sent Simultaneously to 149 KAIST Professors
According to internal documents submitted by KAIST to Choi Sujin, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, on October 24, 149 KAIST professors received an identical email early last year titled “China’s Global Outstanding Scientist Invitation Program.”
The email stated, “With the support of the Chinese government, we are inviting outstanding overseas talent,” and offered “an annual salary of 2 million yuan (about 400 million won), housing, and educational support for children.” After one of the professors shared the email with the university’s research security team, the case was referred to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for investigation. The NIS conducted a comprehensive review and confirmed that a total of 149 KAIST professors had received the same email.
NIS Confirms Similar Cases at Multiple Institutions
The NIS suspected that similar approaches may have been made to major government-funded research institutes in science and technology nationwide and conducted a thorough investigation, discovering numerous similar cases. The NIS concluded, “The Thousand Talents Plan is not simply a talent recruitment program, but a state-level strategic operation by China to secure overseas core technologies.” The Thousand Talents Plan is a program by the Chinese government that offers various incentives and privileges to attract high-level science and technology professionals from abroad.
Choi’s office pointed out, “Although the KAIST research security team reported that 2 to 3 similar emails are consistently received each month, there is no basis for sanctions if professors do not report them individually, and there is no authority to conduct compulsory investigations, making it structurally difficult to respond.” Choi emphasized, “As domestic technology becomes more advanced, attempts at overseas technology theft will become even more blatant. Since research security is national security, it is essential to promptly pass the amendment to the National Research and Development Innovation Act to establish a system that enables research institutions to respond immediately.”
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