South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) received a significant increase in its research and development (R&D) budget for 2025, underscoring its commitment to pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation initiatives.
The ministry’s total R&D allocation increased 16.1 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) to KRW 9.7 trillion (about $7.3 billion), after an 11.3 percent reduction in funding this year.
Recent service news: SK Telecom and Lambda partner to expand AI cloud services in South Korea
MSIT plans to spend KRW 4.3 trillion of its budget on this pioneering program, representing an 18.9 percent increase from the previous year, as the ministry moves away from a “catch-up strategy “.
Key priorities include building international relationships leadership in AIsemiconductors, advanced biotechnology and quantum technology. The budget for AI and digital innovation alone was increased by 4.8%, totaling KRW 880 billion.
Additionally, funding for pioneering AI semiconductor data center technologies will see a substantial increase of 33.3%, reaching KRW 10 billion, while support for related demonstrations will increase by 29.8%. , totaling KRW 24.4 billion.
Recent political news: South Korea creates ‘6G society’ to advance mobile, satellite collaboration
South Korea’s MSIT has also significantly increased funding for Open RAN testbeds, which will increase fourfold to KRW 3.9 billion.
Additionally, a new allocation of KRW 6.4 billion has been set aside for the development of ultra-high density projects. semiconductor stacking technology.
The ministry also announced efforts to streamline R&D processes by eliminating preliminary feasibility studies, allowing for faster adaptations to technological advancements.
