The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) unveiled these plans on Thursday as a part of the brand new 2026 Brain Pool (BP/BP+) Program, designed to increase the nation’s global analysis competitiveness. Initially launched in 1994, the Brain Pool Program seeks to internationalize Korea’s analysis panorama and safe new development drivers.
Emphasizing the worth of top-tier science and expertise expertise, the MSIT has elevated this system’s finances by roughly 40%. The funding jumps from 38.8 billion received in 2025 to 54.6 billion received this 12 months, in accordance to a report by DongA Science journal.
The up to date program options two foremost pathways for funding. The new “BP+ Institution-led” observe is a large-scale initiative granting better autonomy to home universities, analysis institutes, and government-affiliated organizations. It goals to assist them recruit excellent abroad analysis groups or particular person students to generate world-class outcomes.
Five establishments can be chosen to obtain roughly 3 billion received annually for up to 5 years, structured as a two-plus-three-year time period, by means of block funding. The monetary assist covers salaries, recruitment prices, and analysis bills. Institutions might nominate a candidate pool thrice bigger than their last choice based mostly on their international expertise recruitment methods.
Meanwhile, the prevailing “BP Individual-led” observe plans to choose about 80 initiatives. This pathway presents up to 350 million received per researcher for up to three years. This funding additionally covers salaries, residing allowances, and analysis bills.
Applications are at present open by way of the National Research Foundation of Korea’s Integrated R&D Information System (iris.go.kr). The deadline for the Institution-led observe is April 10, whereas the Individual-led observe deadline falls on April 16. Further particulars can be found on the MSIT and NRF web sites.
This initiative aligns with a joint motion plan launched by the MSIT and related ministries final November, aimed toward serving to Korea make a big leap towards turning into a global science and expertise powerhouse, as acknowledged in a press launch on the ministry’s web site.
The plan was unveiled at a nationwide coverage briefing titled “Korea Dreaming Again of Becoming a Nation of Scientists and Engineers.”
The authorities acknowledges that as global competitors for technological management accelerates, notably in fields corresponding to synthetic intelligence, main economies are quickly scaling up their investments. Meanwhile, South Korea faces the mounting problem of financial stagnation. Against this backdrop, the federal government views innovation-driven, technology-led development as an pressing nationwide precedence.
A central goal of the broader plan is to create a virtuous cycle the place prime expertise gathers, generates revolutionary outcomes, and makes use of these achievements to appeal to much more expertise. To obtain this, the technique outlines strategies to appeal to and assist science and expertise expertise whereas essentially reforming the R&D ecosystem, laying a powerful basis for Korea’s science and expertise insurance policies by means of 2030.