[Opinion] Strengthening Expertise of the 30th Anniversary Science and Technology Advisory Council

The history of presidential advisory on science and technology policy in South Korea is longer than expected. In 1962, President Park Jeong-hee established the Economic Science Council to formulate policy strategies in the field of science and technology, and Article 127 of the revised 1987 Constitution included the legal basis for the establishment of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council (NSTAC).

Launched as a permanent advisory body toward the end of the Roh Tae-woo administration, the NSTAC has, over the past 30 years, reflected long-term perspectives and global trends in South Korea’s science and technology development process, producing a total of 161 science and technology strategies for economic prosperity and advising the president. Ultimately, the history of science and technology advisory is inseparable from the history of South Korea’s development.

Marking its 30th anniversary this year, the advisory council has continuously evolved by providing policy advice aligned with the characteristics and goals of each government. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, it merged with the National Science and Technology Deliberation Council to firmly establish itself as the definitive control tower for science and technology policy.

The purpose of integrating policy advisory and deliberation functions is to create and operate a virtuous cycle structure for science and technology innovation. Additionally, it implies an effective response to recent global climate change and international science and technology hegemony competition, as well as fostering science and technology that communicates with society.

With changes in domestic and international policy environments, the scope of issues handled by the NSTAC has expanded and requires more detailed management. As seen in recent advisory agendas such as "Support Measures for the Growth of Young Scientists" and "Science and Technology Policies for a Disaster-Resilient Society," there is a growing demand to ensure that scientific issues do not end within science itself but are equipped with policy response capabilities to address new social issues.

To achieve this, the NSTAC must be able to present the direction of science and technology innovation policies through active communication with the government, the public, and field researchers. This is a time when internal capacity building is more necessary than ever. For the NSTAC to fulfill its role properly, it is essential first to strengthen the policy research expertise of the supporting organization that sustains the advisory council and to develop its policy coordination capabilities.

First and foremost, the status of the head of the support team should be elevated. Currently, the support team leader is a director-level public official whose role is limited to managing advisory agendas and administrative support, which restricts their ability to coordinate policies and interests across ministries. If the support team leader is overseen by the Blue House Office of Science and Technology Advisors, and the deputy head, a senior general service official at the director-general level, manages day-to-day operations, the support team’s activities?including presidential advisory support functions, overall policy coordination and evaluation of science and technology agendas, and monitoring the implementation status across ministries?could be carried out more effectively.

The expertise of the presidential advisory body is directly linked to how well it utilizes the capabilities of expert members dedicated to domestic and international policy research. Currently, experts are recruited by requesting dispatch from various research institutions, but difficulties sometimes arise due to mismatches between advisory agendas, advisory members, and expert members’ fields of expertise.

Moreover, since the dispatch period is only one year, there is insufficient time to fully demonstrate expertise. It is proposed to establish a dedicated expert committee, organized by policy and technical fields, to design conditions and structures that maximize expertise. Alongside this, administrative personnel and public communication capabilities must be expanded to ensure that expert members are not burdened with administrative tasks.

We are currently at a very critical juncture where we must respond to the nationalism and science and technology hegemony competition of major advanced countries and solve national-level challenges. No one can deny that science and technology lie at the core of these solutions. In this context, it is crucial for the president to receive timely advice on science and technology innovation policy agendas and to empower their implementation in the right places.

To this end, strengthening the policy research expertise and coordination capabilities of the advisory council’s support organization to enable the president to effectively utilize the advisory council is essential for the development of science and technology over the next 30 years.

Yoon Ji-woong, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Kyung Hee University