[Insight & Opinion] Healing for Scientists and Engineers Is More Urgent Than Increasing the R&D Budget

The Science and Technology Community Shackled by the 'Cartel'
Polarization Deepens, Multipolarity Disappears in Research
Active Efforts Needed to Restore the Honor of Scientists

Next year's major research and development (R&D) budget will increase by 13.2% from this year to 24.8 trillion won. Including the general R&D budget finalized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance at the end of August, the national R&D budget could approach 30 trillion won. Considering that the overall budget increase rate is around 4%, the increase in the national R&D budget is not merely a restoration or recovery but a transformative overhaul, according to the Presidential Office. It is said to reflect the president's determination to make the national R&D budget 'record-breaking.'

Even a child knows that the government's financial situation is very difficult. Nevertheless, the president's determination to make the national R&D budget record-breaking is admirable. It is very fortunate that the government has belatedly realized that there is no alternative to surviving the fierce global power competition.

However, the atmosphere in the science and technology field is cold. Although next year's major R&D budget will increase significantly compared to this year, the criticism that it barely surpasses the 24.7 trillion won of 2023 is meaningless. This is because the government's budget allocation is a typical zero-sum game. To increase the R&D budget, other budgets must be cut. This means that the R&D budget cannot be increased indiscriminately just because the projects are important.

The problem lies not in the 'scale' of the budget but in its 'content.' The next year's budget proposal proudly presented by the Presidential Office shows no 'will' to lift the heavy yoke of the 'cartel' and 'devil' that has burdened our science and technology community over the past year. Budget increases without visible and active efforts to restore the honor of scientists and doctors who have been reduced to 'gang thieves' and 'opportunists' are meaningless. The reality that natural science and engineering students flock to medical schools, and that medical students and young residents leave hospitals, is very serious. This is not something the government can fix simply by injecting more funds.

Last year's sudden budget cuts by the Ministry of Science and ICT were neither rational nor reasonable. Minister Lee Jong-ho's claim that "inefficiencies were removed and systems were innovated" was hollow. In fact, there were no clear goals or principles, and the process lacked transparency. On the contrary, the Ministry's ad hoc and haphazard budget cuts worsened the situation. As a result, polarization in the research field deepened, and diversity disappeared. This is why active government efforts to heal the situation are necessary.

The flashy 'Yoon Seok-yeol-style' R&D projects are also unsightly. Not only have contract departments for 'semiconductors' been created indiscriminately at Seoul National University and metropolitan universities, but a whopping 3.4 trillion won will be invested from this year in so-called 'game changer' fields such as AI-semiconductors, advanced bio, and quantum. Additionally, 2.1 trillion won will be invested in the greatly increased 'global R&D' starting this year. The innovation and challenge-type R&D approved in March will also start with a budget of 1 trillion won. The newly established Space Agency's 'space economy' is also clumsy.

The trickery to create the 'largest-ever' budget is also irritating. The budget proposal reviewed and approved by the National Science and Technology Advisory Council on the 27th of last month was only 24.5 trillion won. The announcement to add another 300 billion won by the end of August when the government budget is finalized is a clear trick. Was it really necessary to wait for additional preliminary feasibility study results and the Ministry of Economy and Finance's confirmation of multi-department collaborative budgets?

Lee Deok-hwan, Professor Emeritus at Sogang University, Chemistry and Science Communication