Presidential Office Refutes Opposition's Claim of 'R&D Budget Increase for Election Purposes' as "Consistent Position"

Rebuttal via Presidential Office Website
Explanation of R&D Budget Scheduling

The Presidential Office recently announced that it plans to allocate the largest-ever budget for research and development (R&D) next year, and in response to opposition parties' criticism that this is for election purposes, it rebutted by stating, "The increase in the R&D budget is a continuous and consistent official government position."

On the 5th, the Presidential Office posted on the "The Fact Is" section of its website, stating this and adding, "We will innovate the R&D support method and significantly expand the budget."

The Presidential Office listed related actions from the 50th anniversary ceremony of the Daejeon Daedeok Research and Development Special Zone on November 2 last year to the announcement of the 2025 budget guidelines released on the 26th of last month, emphasizing that "The increase in the 2025 R&D budget following the reform toward 'R&D that is truly R&D' is the official government position that President Yoon Suk-yeol has consistently and continuously expressed since last year."

In particular, it pointed out that since the announcement of the budget guidelines on the 26th of last month, ministries and sectors must begin organizing the 2025 R&D projects, and discussions on the scale and direction of budget allocation should start accordingly, drawing a clear line that this is essentially separate from the general election schedule.

Regarding criticism that "there are no specific figures," the Presidential Office stated, "Specific figures will be released after the R&D allocation process is completed by August." The government’s R&D allocation process proceeds through setting investment directions in March, budget requests by ministries in May, review by sector-specific expert committees and budget distribution and adjustment by the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters in May to June, and finalization of the government budget proposal by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in August.

Furthermore, the Presidential Office explained by referring to these procedures, saying, "It takes time until specific figures are released," and "The budget process is underway, which involves organizing projects based on ministries' budget requests and including newly planned projects according to policy directions."

Sangwook Park, Chief of Science and Technology at the Presidential Office, is giving a briefing on the direction of reform for research and development (R&D) support at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 3rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government has promoted the characteristics of "R&D that is truly R&D" as the basic principle for next year's R&D budget allocation, highlighting ▲ timeliness and promptness ▲ trust and transparency ▲ competition and cooperation ▲ innovation and challenge. The Presidential Office introduced this as "an innovation in the support method to eliminate inefficiencies raised due to the rapid expansion of the R&D budget," adding, "While pursuing reform in the R&D support method, we also aim to significantly increase next year's R&D budget."

To prevent delays from research planning to commencement, the policy is to provide timely and swift support when research funds are needed, trust and support researchers, and transparently disclose research funds and outcomes to the public. Additionally, it plans to break down barriers between ministries and institutions, strengthen research capabilities across industry, academia, research institutes, and hospitals, and transform into a system that can collaborate with world-class researchers, while creating a leading-country type research environment where young researchers can freely conduct research.

Earlier, Park Sang-wook, Senior Secretary for Science and Technology, said at a Presidential Office briefing two days ago, "In the unprecedentedly rapid wave of technological change where the world is competing in technology, we cannot just focus on reform work," adding, "Therefore, while carrying out reforms, we also intend to significantly increase next year's R&D budget." A senior official from the Presidential Office also mentioned to reporters regarding the scale of the R&D budget, "There is a consensus on aiming for the highest-ever level, including the President, economic ministries, and the Innovation Headquarters."