[Reporter’s Notebook] Government Delays Meeting Despite Calling for Science and Technology Talent

The government has postponed the high-level meeting of ministers responsible for securing advanced science and technology talent, which was scheduled for the 26th. The government explained that the meeting was deferred due to preparations for the upcoming National Assembly audit and other priorities.

This meeting would have provided an opportunity to assess the government’s response following the Donald Trump administration’s significant increase in the H-1B visa fee to 100,000 dollars (approximately 141 million won) per year. Kang Hoonshik, Chief Presidential Secretary, recently instructed each ministry to prepare countermeasures at a senior aides’ meeting, stating, “This could be an opportunity to attract global STEM talent to Korea.”

However, the government may already be late in its preparations to secure top talent. Around the world, efforts are already underway to turn the ‘H-1B risk’ into an opportunity. The CEO of a British artificial intelligence (AI) startup reported, “After the H-1B turmoil, I received over 1,000 messages from computer science graduates at the world’s top universities over the weekend.” It appears that countries worldwide are now competing to attract talent being pushed out of the United States.

Korea’s reality is different from that of other countries. According to government estimates, each year, 400 to 600 Koreans earn a doctorate in the United States, about 4,000 are postdoctoral researchers, and approximately 8,000 Korean nationals work as researchers at universities and research institutes. However, the government’s analysis indicates that fewer than one-tenth of these researchers are actually affected by H-1B regulations. Even if there are some benefits from the return of talent, the impact is narrower than expected.

So, is it possible to attract foreign talent? The industry’s perspective is skeptical. Cho Junhee, President of the Korea AI and Software Association, said, “The United States is spending millions of dollars to recruit AI talent. A 100,000 dollar visa fee is unlikely to change the market landscape,” adding, “Considering that most top-tier talent earns over 1 million dollars, such costs are negligible.” Another chief technology officer (CTO) at a major IT company dismissed the issue, saying, “Talent does not move solely because of visa costs.”

The government is also aware that the fundamental issue lies in the lack of adequate compensation and research environments. It has pledged to increase budgets for overseas talent recruitment and to establish a recruitment system linked to universities and research institutions. However, the gap between words and action remains. Claiming that securing talent is a key to national competitiveness while postponing meetings due to audit preparations may be perceived as lacking sincerity.

Relying solely on the potential benefits from stricter U.S. visa regulations is no different from waiting for fruit to fall from a tree. For top-tier talent, visa fee burdens are insignificant. Without the government’s efforts to improve the quality of the domestic research environment, active investment by companies to attract talent, and a social atmosphere that values STEM professionals, the problem of talent outflow cannot be solved. We must address the fundamental task of strengthening our own competitiveness.