Ministry of Science and ICT Takes Follow-up Measures After the Science and Engineering Support Act Amendment Passes National Assembly

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 29th that the amendment to the "Special Act on Supporting Science and Engineering Fields to Strengthen National Science and Technology Competitiveness" (Science and Engineering Support Act) has passed the plenary session of the National Assembly. The Ministry plans to strengthen support for science and engineering fields through follow-up measures such as revising enforcement ordinances.

The amendment to the Science and Engineering Support Act, processed by the National Assembly on the 28th, includes the establishment of grounds for tailored policies such as education, scholarships, and military service for elementary, middle, high school, university/graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers in science and engineering fields, the establishment of grounds for policies to promote financial support and enhanced residency benefits to attract overseas science and engineering talent, and the establishment of grounds for policies necessary to promote work-life balance for science and technology personnel, containing various measures to reverse the avoidance of science and engineering fields.

For elementary and middle school students, the amendment provides grounds for policies to encourage convergent thinking about science and technology and to motivate learning in science and engineering fields by expanding the distribution and use of digital textbooks, developing educational content that integrates science and humanities/social sciences, and increasing accessibility to mathematics and science through science museums.

Notably, the amendment introduces a policy to provide research life encouragement grants to graduate students in science and engineering and allows for the necessary financial support. It also newly establishes grounds to create standard guidelines and monitor compliance to stably support postdoctoral researchers in science and engineering fields.

To enable science and engineering personnel to continue their research careers without interruption, grounds have been established to support the linkage between military service and career through systems such as the Science and Technology Specialist Officer and Specialized Research Personnel programs. Additionally, grounds have been established to develop support measures for the safety, rights protection, and research environment creation for student researchers.

To attract and utilize excellent overseas science and engineering talent, grounds have been secured to implement policies such as providing research encouragement grants, facilitating immigration procedures, supporting employment, and conducting research support projects.

To expand female research personnel, the amendment allows research institutions to permit reduced working hours upon request for childcare purposes, reflecting the characteristics of the research institution, and legally grounds the allowance of reduced working hours for research personnel during childcare periods for up to three years.

Based on the amended Science and Engineering Support Act, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to continue implementing the Science and Technology Talent Growth and Development Strategy announced last September and to prepare follow-up measures such as revising enforcement ordinances for detailed execution of the main provisions of the amendment.