Foreign Institutions Now Eligible to Participate in National R&D Research and Development Agencies

Approval of the Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the National R&D Innovation Act at the Cabinet Meeting

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the National Research and Development Innovation Act passed the Cabinet meeting on the 30th, allowing overseas institutions to directly participate as research and development institutions in South Korea's national research and development projects. The amended enforcement decree is scheduled to take effect on the 6th of next month.

According to the amended enforcement decree, overseas institutions are also included as research and development institutions under the Innovation Act. Accordingly, they can directly participate as lead or joint research and development institutions in national research and development projects. This establishes a system foundation related to national research and development projects to promote international joint research.

For domestic researchers participating in projects where overseas institutions serve as lead or joint research and development institutions, the limit on concurrent projects has been relaxed to up to four as principal investigators and up to six as participating researchers.

When companies participate in government R&D projects to conduct international joint research, the international joint research and development expenses will be excluded from the total research and development costs when calculating the burden, thereby reducing it.

The amended enforcement decree also requires that when a principal investigator receives support or compensation from abroad, this must be included in the research and development plan and submitted to the relevant ministry to manage information related to conflicts of interest of the principal investigator.

The Ministry of Science and ICT explained, "We aimed to transform into a leading R&D system of innovation and challenge through strengthening international cooperation, systematizing research security, creating an efficient research environment, and enhancing the utilization of outcomes."