South Korea to reform national R&D system to reward ambitious research

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has announced a major overhaul of the national Research and Development (R&D) administrative system to foster more ambitious and flexible scientific inquiry. The ‘2026 National R&D Administrative System Improvement Plan’ aims to shift the evaluation paradigm from a focus on routine goal achievement to rewarding high-risk, high-reward research.

A key feature of the reform is the introduction of the ‘Moving Target’ system, which will allow researchers to adjust their project goals mid-stream to respond to rapid changes in the global technological landscape. Under the new evaluation framework, projects that fail to meet original objectives but produce significant data or knowledge through innovative attempts will be classified as ‘excellent challenge projects’ and eligible for incentives and follow-up funding.

To increase autonomy, the government is relaxing restrictions on the timing of research equipment procurement and simplifying the process for using research funds to cover essential labor costs. Additionally, the ministry plans to standardize settlement guidelines across different government departments to reduce administrative burdens. While rewarding innovation, the plan also includes strict sanctions, such as fund recovery and participation bans, for research misconduct or failure to meet legal obligations.