Lessons from the Stalled Medium-Ion Accelerator... Strengthening Feasibility Reviews for Large Research Facilities

National Science and Technology Advisory Council to Finalize Improvement Measures on the 16th

Korean-type heavy ion accelerator 'RAON' rendering (Provided by POSCO E&C)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Amid concerns over additional financial burdens due to setbacks in the 1.5 trillion KRW Korean-style heavy ion accelerator project, the government has established measures to prevent recurrence, including reorganizing the promotion system and strengthening management capabilities for large-scale research facility construction projects.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Presidential National Science and Technology Advisory Council held an operations committee meeting on the 16th and finalized the "Improvement Plan for Project Promotion to Enhance the Substance of Large-scale Research Facility Construction," which includes these measures.

First, to strengthen the planning stage, a Large-scale Research Facility Expert Committee will be newly established within the National Science and Technology Advisory Council to provide customized consulting during project planning. By involving experts in the preliminary feasibility study, the validity of project promotion and the appropriateness of the project plan will be thoroughly reviewed.

Based on field opinion collection, a "Standard Guideline for Large-scale Research Facility Construction Management" has been enacted, requiring projects exceeding 50 billion KRW to follow this guideline. The guideline sets procedures for plan changes, ensuring thorough verification of appropriateness upon design completion and rational adjustment of project scale, duration, and schedule based on this. To strengthen the project team’s capabilities, experts with specialized knowledge and experience will be appointed as project leaders in principle, and if necessary, project management experts will be separately appointed to oversee overall operations and support. A dedicated project management organization will be formed to assist the project leader and experts in managing budget, progress, and risks. Additionally, the evaluation system for large-scale research facility construction projects will be improved to assess only major stages, and a center will be newly established and operated to support consulting and sharing of management experience.

These improvement measures have attracted attention as they were established amid criticism that the first Korean-style "heavy ion accelerator" project, being built in the Daejeon research and development complex at a cost of 1.5183 trillion KRW, is delayed due to technical shortages and overall management deficiencies, causing waste of time and budget from insufficient prior preparation and planning. The heavy ion accelerator was a campaign pledge of former President Lee Myung-bak and has been promoted as a core project of the International Science Business Belt since 2011. It is a facility designed to accelerate not only hydrogen ions (protons) but also heavier heavy ions using a superconducting accelerator, colliding them at tremendous speeds with target materials to create and study new rare isotopes that have not yet been discovered. However, the plan was changed once, and the original completion target of 2019 has been continuously delayed. It is currently known to be postponed by at least four years, and the project’s completion date remains uncertain.

Meanwhile, at the meeting, guidelines to strengthen the management of research and development projects aimed at solving social problems were also approved. When planning and promoting social problem-solving R&D projects, three core conceptual elements must be included: problem-solving goals with high social demand, participation systems and procedures for field demanders, and the application and dissemination of solutions in the field.