[Reading Science] 3 Major Game Changers 'Yangja' and the Difficulty of 'Quantum Jump' with Delayed Investment

Next Year's R&D Budget 170 Billion Won... Advanced Bio at 2 Trillion Won
Quantum Computers: US Scores 100, Korea 2.3
Widening Technology Gap with Major Countries
Assemblyman Go Dong-jin: "Enormous Potential... Must Actively Foster"

On the 25th of last month, attendees are taking a commemorative photo at the opening ceremony of Quantum Korea 2024 held at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]

One of the three major game-changing technologies identified by the government is Quantum. Although Quantum is mainly known in the field of computers, it is gaining attention as a future technology that can be developed and utilized in various fields such as sensors and communications. The government recognizes the need for focused nurturing in the future, but there is still a long way to go. As competing countries accelerate their investments and technological development, the gap between us is widening, making swift response necessary.

◇Quantum, difficult to catch up even with focused nurturing= The Ministry of Science and ICT recently announced that out of the 24.8 trillion won budget for major research and development (R&D) next year, 3.4 trillion won will be allocated to the three major game-changing technologies. While 1.1 trillion won will be invested in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, and 2.1 trillion won in advanced bio, only 170 billion won will be invested in Quantum. Although this represents a 32.1% increase compared to the previous year, the investment scale is inevitably smaller than AI, semiconductors, and bio due to the early stage of the industry. Considering that government investment in Quantum started at 10.6 billion won in 2019, the growth trend is remarkable, but the scale is still unsatisfactory.

Lee Yong-ho, head of the Superconducting Quantum Computing System Research Group at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, is explaining the 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer model exhibited at Quantum Korea 2024. Photo by Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science

Of course, the government plans large-scale investment in Quantum. The Quantum Technology Industry Act was enacted last October, and the ‘Quantum Initiative’ was announced in April, showing clear commitment to investment. Since last year, the Ministry of Science and ICT has been conducting a preliminary feasibility study for Quantum science and technology R&D worth 996 billion won, but the results have not yet been released. A science official who requested anonymity explained, "Because the Quantum field has high research uncertainty, it is difficult to meet the criteria of the preliminary feasibility study, which requires specific deadlines and goals." This means that even if Quantum investment passes the preliminary feasibility study, the scale may be significantly reduced, or the government may need to devise investment strategies according to institutional changes, as it has decided to abolish the preliminary feasibility study. It was even a considerable shock in the scientific community that the Quantum field was excluded from the ‘Global Top Strategy Team’ project, which the Ministry of Science and ICT ambitiously selected for government-funded research institutes recently.

Investment in Quantum is an urgent matter. According to the ‘Advanced Bio, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Quantum Global R&D Strategic Map’ reviewed at the 3rd meeting of the Global R&D Special Committee under the National Science and Technology Advisory Council on the 26th of last month, the United States, which has the highest technological level in the Quantum computer sector, scored 100 points, but Korea scored only 2.3 points. The strategic map evaluated the technological levels of 12 major countries including the US, China, the UK, Germany, and Japan based on papers, patents, and expert qualitative evaluations. In the Quantum communication sector, the US scored 84.8 points, China 82.5 points, but Korea remained at 2.9 points. Korea also scored 2.9 points in Quantum sensing.

This result is considered natural. The budget gap is too large to narrow the technological gap with major countries such as the US and China, which have invested ahead in the Quantum field. The US and China, which are competing in the Quantum field, are increasing investments as if competing at the national level. China invested about 17 trillion won until last year, and the US announced a 3.5 trillion won investment plan over four years until 2022. These countries recognize Quantum as a future game changer and a national security strategic technology, and since the mid-2010s, they have presented national-level policy support and mid-to-long-term technology roadmaps. The US introduced its Quantum policy in 2008.

According to QURECA, a Quantum field research organization, the global investment scale in Quantum science and technology last year is estimated at about 38.6 billion dollars and is rapidly increasing every year.

Go Dong-jin, a member of the People Power Party and chairman of the AI Semiconductor Special Committee, emphasized, "Quantum is an important technology in itself, but it also has enormous potential to impact future industries such as semiconductor security. It must be actively nurtured."

◇Delayed investment means giving the home ground to foreign companies= Although our government's Quantum strategy is somewhat delayed, the pace of implementation is not inferior to any government. In 2022, a national strategic technology development plan was prepared, selecting Quantum technology as an essential foundational technology among 12 national essential strategic technologies, and last year, a three-stage development strategy and seven promotion strategies for realizing the Quantum economy were established. The recently held Quantum Korea event was also an opportunity to confirm the government's interest in Quantum.

This event was held for the first time last year. It was a significant achievement that President Yoon Suk-yeol personally attended and confirmed his commitment to nurturing the Quantum industry. The ‘Quantum Korea 2024’ event held on the 25th of last month at KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, saw delegations from the UK and Denmark composed of companies, researchers, and government officials participating, and embassies from nine countries including Australia, Switzerland, and Israel also attended, elevating the event's international status.

Mikhail Lukin, a scholar of Quantum optics and Quantum information science and co-founder of the Quantum computer company QURECA Computing at Harvard University, predicted the imminent era of Quantum computers in a special lecture. He foresaw that solutions to errors, which have been considered a drawback of Quantum computers, will soon be developed. While classical computers use only 0 and 1 as the basic units of information, Quantum computers can have 0 and 1 coexist simultaneously. This process allows for high computational performance, but there is a high possibility of errors during calculations. Fast computation is meaningless if errors exist. Fast and accurate computation is an essential condition for the success of Quantum computers. Professor Lukin said, "The development of Quantum computer error correction technology has begun in earnest," and added, "Further exploration in this field could accelerate the realization of large-scale Quantum computers."

However, most of the booths that attracted attention at this event were foreign companies. Representative examples include IBM, IonQ, and Pascal. IBM drew attention by showcasing the Quantum computer system ‘Quantum System One,’ which is scheduled to be installed and operated at Yonsei University.

IBM Quantum Computing Business General Manager Sanghee Pyo is explaining in front of the physical model of the IBM Quantum System One. Photo by Korea IBM

IBM demonstrated its determination to dominate the domestic Quantum computer market by bringing a full-scale model of the ‘Quantum System One’ Quantum computer system from Japan. The System One is scheduled to be installed and operated at Yonsei University’s Songdo International Campus within this year. With a performance of 127 qubits, the System One is expected to greatly contribute to domestic bio research. It is anticipated to be warmly welcomed by researchers as it can be used faster compared to Quantum computers accessed through existing cloud environments.

IonQ, founded by Korean-American Dr. Jungsang Kim, also exhibited a 36-qubit Quantum computer. IonQ researches Quantum computers using ion trap qubits and collaborates with Sungkyunkwan University.

Domestic Quantum computer research institutions such as the Institute for Basic Science, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and Sungkyunkwan University also exhibited their research results, but the gap with overseas research remains significant.