Korea to expand international cooperation in science projects

[Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT]

South Korea is expected to become the first associate member of Horizon Europe in Asia from 2025 onward. Horizon Europe is the biggest research and innovation program in the European Union and strives to expand collaboration with others in core technology areas including bio, semiconductors, and quantum.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said that it concluded negotiations with the EU in March 2024 and plans to join the group of countries associated with Horizon Europe.

The move comes as inter-country collaboration via initiatives such as Horizon Europe plays an increasingly bigger role in enhancing national scientific and technological competitiveness as well as creating innovative research outcomes as the global technological competition accelerates.

“Research projects aimed at solving global problems or making new discoveries can no longer be carried out independently even by countries with advanced scientific and technological levels,” Seoul National University Professor of materials science and engineering Nam Ki-tae said. “When excellent researchers from various countries collaborate, significant achievements are possible.”

The Event Horizon Telescope project in 2019 captured images near a black hole for the first time in human history. This helped physics take a step forward by proving Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which states that spacetime curves in the presence of strong gravity.

The Event Horizon Telescope project is a massive endeavor involving over 80 astronomical institutions worldwide and over 300 astronomers. Horizon Europe made this possible and the program has invested 283 billion euros ($308.1 billion) since 1984.

The academic prestige associated with global collaborative research is also increasing. According to the U.S. National Science Foundation, the number of papers co-authored by researchers from multiple countries increased by nearly twice from 430,000 in 2013 to 750,000 in 2022. Papers authored by collaborators from three or more countries account for 30 percent of international collaboration papers and 7 percent of all papers.

As the importance of global research and development increases, voices calling for institutional improvements have also grown. In Korea’s case, there were no standardized guidelines in the past to inform domestic institutions about methods of cooperation or settlement of research funds when pursuing joint research with foreign institutions. In response to these difficulties, the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning distributed a joint research manual in February 2024, outlining procedures for concluding agreements according to research types and major checklists for international contracts, thus guiding researchers as they pursue joint research.

The government also announced plans in June 2024 to operate a Global R&D Support Center. The center aims to provide one-stop support for resolving various issues in research sites, such as research agreements and intellectual property negotiations, with the participation of private sector experts in fields such as law, negotiations, and intellectual property rights. It unveiled a global standardization of research administration systems as well as improving domestic identification systems such as public key certificates and mobile authentication to meet international standards, and also plans to translate documents and regulations into English to enhance convenience for both Korean and international researchers.

“Global research cooperation is increasingly important as a means to enhance Korea’s scientific and technological competitiveness and contribute to solving global social issues,” Deputy Science Minister Lee Chang-yune said. “(Korea) will move forward as a leading country in science and technology by strengthening technological cooperation and personnel exchange with global partners such as the United States and Europe.”