South Korea's New Core Research Grants Face 34.6% Cut Despite Rising R&D Spending

843 fewer grants for university researchers

South Korea plans to reduce new awards in a major basic research programme from 2,438 to 1,595, a fall of 34.6%, even as the government proposes an 11.2% increase in total research and development spending. The loss of 843 grants would narrow a funding route that many university laboratories depend on to keep experiments running and pay researchers.

The proposed reductions affect Types A, B and C of the core research programme, which provides annual grants of 100 million to 300 million won. Artificial intelligence research, meanwhile, is allocated a 69.1% increase, and future energy research, including nuclear power, a 37.7% increase.

The Ministry of Science and ICT says much of the basic research budget is already committed to projects awarded earlier. Protecting those commitments leaves less money for new awards, including applications from researchers whose existing grants are ending.

The figures concern a government proposal, with parliamentary budget deliberations still capable of changing allocations. There is also uncertainty over the fiscal year and headline total: President Lee Jae-myung's National Assembly address is described as proposing 39.5 trillion won, up from 35.5 trillion won, while a historical budget series lists 35.5 trillion won for 2026. The account dated November 2, 2026 refers to the following year's grants. The proposed grant reductions are consistent across the figures presented.

Where the new awards would fall

Type A, the smallest of the three core research categories, would fall from 1,209 new awards to 825, a reduction of 384, or 31.8%. Each award provides up to 100 million won a year.

Type B, providing 200 million won annually, would fall to 670 new awards, down 37.4%. Type C, providing 300 million won annually, would decline by 37.1%. The larger grants therefore face steeper percentage reductions than Type A.

Across the three categories, the planned intake would be about 65 awards for every 100 available in the current comparison year. That is a substantial reduction in opportunities for researchers seeking their next project.

Core research has the largest number of projects among basic research programmes and is a major funding source for university professors. Basic research investigates how the world works, often before anyone knows whether a discovery will become a medicine, a material or a commercial technology.

For a laboratory finishing a grant, a new award can support the next stage of an experiment and retain the people who know how to carry it out. Fewer awards mean more competition for that continuity. The number of applicants and the eventual success rate have not been given.

Why a bigger budget can fund fewer new projects

The ministry's explanation rests on the difference between total spending and money available for new commitments. A grant lasting several years creates bills in each of those years. Increasing the number or size of awards today commits part of tomorrow's budget.

In the first half of 2025, new selections for individual basic research reached 4,628, an increase of 914 from the previous year. That puts the earlier total at 3,714 and the increase at approximately 24.6%.

Type A support also became more generous. Its maximum duration increased from three years to five, while the annual ceiling rose from 70 million won to 100 million won. At those ceilings, the maximum support over a full award rose from 210 million won to 500 million won.

The ministry says most of the basic research allocation has gone toward continuing the expanded group of existing projects. It also adopted a principle of protecting continuing project budgets during allocation. Researchers already holding grants benefit from that protection, while those seeking a new award face a smaller pool.

Laboratory budgets are also employment budgets

Oh Kyung-soo, a professor at Chung-Ang University's College of Pharmacy, warned that the reduction would affect established researchers who commonly apply to the programme. He described the likely consequences for laboratories:

Core research is a programme that most established researchers in Korea apply for, and if the number of projects falls, some laboratories will suffer considerable damage, such as having to reduce their size or losing opportunities.

A research grant pays for more than equipment and supplies. It can also support graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, scientists who continue research after completing a doctorate. When funding ends, a laboratory may have to reduce staffing as well as experiments.

Smaller basic research grants provide 50 million to 70 million won annually. Oh argued that this level of support leaves laboratories struggling to maintain meaningful research. The difference is substantial: a grant of 50 million won provides half the annual funding of a Type A core award.

Yoo In-kwon, a physics professor at Pusan National University, said laboratories have few alternatives to the programme:

There is effectively no programme that can replace core research, so a reduction in the number of projects is a very serious problem.

Yoo also warned that the research community had not recovered from earlier budget cuts. For laboratories still rebuilding teams or restarting work, another interruption could mean abandoning experiments before they produce results.

IBS faces a separate reduction

The Institute for Basic Science, known as IBS, faces a reduction in the operating budget for its research centres from 147.4 billion won to 139.9 billion won. The stated amounts represent a decline of 7.5 billion won, or about 5.1%; the reported percentage reduction is 5.4%.

The number of centres has increased, so a smaller total budget must be shared across more research groups. An unnamed IBS centre director said some centres faced reductions approaching 20%.

IBS centres have limited scope to replace lost institutional funding by winning outside grants. That makes the operating allocation particularly important for their staffing and research plans.

The centre director identified pay as the most pressing concern, saying postdoctoral researchers and students faced uncertainty over whether their positions could continue. No total was given for the number of people whose jobs or support might be affected.

University core grants and IBS operating allocations are different funding mechanisms. Both, however, connect national budget decisions directly to the ability of individual research teams to retain people and continue work.

AI receives a much faster increase

The proposed allocation for basic research and universities is 3.6 trillion won, an increase of 5.9%. That is the smallest growth rate among the major research investment areas identified in the budget figures.

AI research spending is described as rising from approximately 2.4 trillion won to 4.1 trillion won, with a stated increase of 69.1%. The broader AI and related industry package totals 21.3 trillion won and includes semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centres. Physical AI refers to systems that interact with the physical world, such as robots.

The 21.3 trillion won package covers a wider range of investment than the AI research allocation. Keeping those categories separate helps explain why the government's headline technology commitments are much larger than the amount identified specifically as AI research.

At the stated rates, AI research spending would grow nearly 12 times as fast as the basic research and university allocation. Future energy research would grow more than six times as fast. Those comparisons help explain why basic researchers can face tighter access to funding during an expansion in national research spending.

The earlier cuts still shape today's concerns

Ministry figures released by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Ju-hee show the reach of the 2024 reductions. Of 33,156 research projects, 23,155 had their funding reduced from the amounts originally planned, a combined reduction of 3.4847 trillion won.

That means roughly seven in every 10 projects in that dataset received less than planned. The number of basic research projects also fell from about 22,200 to 21,500, a reduction of around 700.

The budget sequence shows the earlier contraction and subsequent increases:

• 2023: Government R&D spending stood at 31.1 trillion won in the historical series.
• 2024: The total fell to 26.5 trillion won, and thousands of projects received less funding than planned.
• 2025: The historical total rose to 29.6 trillion won. New individual basic research selections reached 4,628 in the first half.
• 2026: The historical series lists an allocation of 35.5 trillion won.
• December 2: The statutory deadline cited for National Assembly consideration of the budget proposal.

Some university support programmes were removed from the R&D accounting category starting in 2024, changing the basis of the annual totals. The project figures offer a more direct picture of the disruption experienced by funded teams: thousands had to work with less money than their plans anticipated.

What Parliament can still change

The National Assembly's budget deliberations can alter both spending allocations and the resources available for new awards. The December 2 deadline is therefore the next decision point identified for researchers watching the proposal.

The central choice is how much funding to reserve for ongoing commitments and how much to make available to researchers seeking their next grant. The ministry has prioritised continuity for existing projects. University researchers are asking for enough additional support to prevent a gap when those projects end.

For a laboratory, the practical result will depend on its own grant expiry date, eligibility and success in the next selection round. At IBS, the immediate issue is how each centre adjusts its work and staffing to its operating allocation.

The proposed expansion in technology spending therefore sits alongside a narrower opportunity for many basic researchers. Parliament's decisions will determine whether the final budget preserves that balance or creates more room for new research teams and projects.

Key Points

• New core research awards in Types A, B and C would fall from 2,438 to 1,595, a reduction of 34.6%.
• The ministry says continuing commitments absorb most of the basic research budget, leaving less for new awards.
• Basic research and university funding would rise 5.9%, compared with 69.1% for AI research.
• IBS research centre operating funding would fall from 147.4 billion won to 139.9 billion won while the number of centres increases.
• Researchers warn of smaller laboratories, interrupted experiments and employment uncertainty for students and postdoctoral researchers.
• The figures remain proposals subject to parliamentary deliberation, with December 2 cited as the statutory budget deadline.