South Korea Approves 2.17 Trillion Won for Fusion, Marine Reactors and Advanced Displays

Three research programmes set to begin in 2027

South Korea has approved three research programmes worth a combined 2.16747 trillion won, putting a decade of fusion technology development, a marine nuclear reactor project and an advanced display research platform on course to begin in 2027.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the decisions on November 5, 2026, after the ninth National R&D Programme Evaluation General Committee met through written deliberations from November 3 to 5. The projects passed preliminary feasibility studies, the government review process used to assess major research investments before implementation.

Fusion receives the largest allocation: 1.4813 trillion won for 2027 through 2036. A marine molten salt reactor programme receives 317.3 billion won for 2027 through 2030, while the advanced display platform receives 368.87 billion won for 2027 through 2033.

The energy programmes address different needs. Fusion research aims to develop technologies for future electricity generation as artificial intelligence and data centres increase power demand. The marine reactor programme aims to develop equipment and safety assessment methods for ships using nuclear propulsion, an option under consideration as shipping seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Naju will also face a practical transformation. The planned fusion research facilities require about 530,000 square metres of land, with negotiations to buy property scheduled to begin in early 2027. The city plans to provide the site by the first half of 2028.

How the funding is divided

The national government will provide 1.2877 trillion won of the fusion programme's 1.4813 trillion won budget. The marine reactor programme includes 225.2 billion won in national funding, while the display programme includes 278.9 billion won.

Together, those national contributions total 1.7918 trillion won, about 83% of the combined project budgets. Fusion accounts for roughly 68% of the total approved spending, making it the dominant commitment among the three programmes.

The funding periods also show the different development schedules. Fusion research runs for 10 years, compared with four years for the marine reactor project and seven years for displays. The fusion and marine programmes together account for 1.7986 trillion won.

All three projects entered the preliminary feasibility review process before that system was abolished for research and development programmes. Their approval resolves outstanding applications from the former process. The Korea AeroSpace Administration's small lunar lander development project is still awaiting its feasibility result.

What the fusion programme will build

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to establish a centre where core fusion technologies can be tested under extreme conditions resembling those inside a fusion reactor. The programme covers plasma, superconducting magnets, breeding blankets and materials used in fusion equipment.

Fusion joins light atomic nuclei and releases energy. Researchers heat fuel until it becomes plasma, a state in which electrons separate from atomic nuclei. Magnetic confinement machines use powerful magnetic fields to hold that extremely hot material away from the surrounding walls.

Each technology in the programme has a different job. Plasma research concerns controlling the hot fuel. Superconducting magnets produce strong magnetic fields using coils cooled to very low temperatures. Materials must tolerate intense heat and bombardment by energetic particles.

A breeding blanket surrounds the plasma chamber in proposed fusion power systems. It is designed to capture energy from fusion reactions and produce tritium, one of the fuels, through reactions involving lithium. Testing such components is part of the engineering work needed to move from experiments towards an electricity generating plant.

The approved programme therefore focuses on developing technologies and checking their performance in demanding conditions. Its central facility is a technology demonstration centre, with commercial fusion electricity generation requiring further reactor development.

From KSTAR experiments to a future power reactor

South Korea's existing experimental foundation is KSTAR, operated by the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy in Daejeon. In 2024, KSTAR sustained plasma above 100 million degrees Celsius for 48 seconds. Its stated target for 2026 is 300 seconds, or five minutes.

Reaching 300 seconds would mean maintaining the target conditions for 6.25 times as long as the 48 second achievement. Longer operation places greater demands on heat removal, plasma control and the coordinated running of magnets, cooling equipment and heating systems.

KSTAR has also introduced a tungsten divertor, a component that handles heat and particles leaving the confined plasma. The upgrade gives researchers operating experience with equipment relevant to longer plasma experiments and future reactors.

South Korea contributes hardware to ITER, the international fusion experiment, including vacuum vessel sectors and blanket shield modules. That work gives Korean organisations experience in manufacturing major components for a much larger fusion machine.

Longer range projections for K-DEMO, a proposed Korean demonstration reactor, envisage 500 to 700 megawatts of electricity and first plasma in the 2040s. A development outline places conceptual design in 2026 to 2028, engineering development in 2028 to 2032, and the start of licensing and construction activity from 2032. These are projected milestones; the newly approved programme has its own defined period of 2027 to 2036.

Naju prepares land for the research facilities

Naju plans to host the fusion facilities across parts of Deoksan-ri, Singa-ri and Yangsan-ri near Wanggok-myeon, beside its national energy industrial complex. The site was selected through a competition in December 2025.

The feasibility assessment reduced the planned research site from about 1.03 million square metres to approximately 530,000 square metres. That is a reduction of about 500,000 square metres, or nearly half the original area.

Naju is considering a separate fusion research park on the excluded land and plans to commission feasibility analysis and development planning. The city is also pursuing designation as a special research and development zone to attract research organisations, companies and specialist workers.

Landowners are among the first residents who will be directly affected. The city plans to publish compensation information, arrange property valuations and begin negotiated purchases in early 2027. Compensation will proceed in stages, with the research site scheduled to be provided by the first half of 2028.

Naju already hosts Korea Electric Power Corporation, the Korea Power Exchange, other energy organisations and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology. The city forecasts that the fusion project could attract more than 2,000 specialist researchers and about 300 related companies, support more than 10,000 jobs and generate economic effects exceeding 10 trillion won. Those figures are municipal projections for the development.

What a molten salt reactor could do at sea

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will jointly oversee the marine molten salt reactor programme. Its 317.3 billion won budget supports work on reactor cores, systems, nuclear fuel and materials, together with technologies for connecting a reactor to a ship and assessing safety.

In the design described for the programme, nuclear fuel material is dissolved in molten salts containing substances such as fluorides or chlorides. The liquid combines the roles of fuel carrier and coolant, carrying heat away from the reactor core.

A molten salt reactor uses fission, which releases energy by splitting heavy atomic nuclei. Fusion takes the opposite approach by joining light nuclei. The two programmes therefore involve different physical processes, equipment and research tasks, even though both belong to South Korea's nuclear technology portfolio.

Molten salt reactors can operate at high temperatures and low pressures, and their potential for compact construction makes them attractive for marine research. A ship has limited space and must accommodate propulsion machinery, cargo, crew and safety equipment within a moving structure.

The programme's stated goal is to develop the technological basis for nuclear propulsion. Its approved work runs through 2030 and centres on reactor technology, integration and safety evaluation.

Why the connection between reactor and ship matters

The marine programme specifically includes the reactor and ship interface: the systems through which the reactor installation connects with the vessel. This makes ship integration a named research task alongside fuel, materials and reactor design.

A reactor produces heat, while a ship needs usable power for propulsion and other equipment. Engineers must develop the connections and control arrangements that allow the reactor and vessel to function together. Safety assessment must address that combined system.

South Korea is pursuing the work as shipping responds to stronger greenhouse gas reduction goals from the International Maritime Organization. The government also aims to connect domestic nuclear engineering capabilities with the country's shipbuilding industry.

For shipbuilders and equipment suppliers, the immediate opportunity lies in research, component development and testing. The announced package gives no date for the commercial launch of a reactor powered vessel, so the concrete deadline is completion of the approved technology programme in 2030.

Displays receive a platform from design to panel testing

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's advanced display programme will receive 368.87 billion won over seven years. Its research infrastructure will support work from initial design through demonstrations at the scale of a display panel.

The programme has three named themes. Over OLED aims to overcome performance limits in existing organic light emitting diode displays. Cross OLED combines different functions and technologies. Post OLED explores display technologies beyond OLED.

OLED displays use organic materials that emit light when electricity passes through them. Moving from a promising material or design to a complete panel requires researchers to check whether the idea can work across a much larger surface and within a manufactured device.

The planned platform brings those stages into the programme's scope. Its facilities are intended to connect design work with panel demonstrations, giving researchers a route to evaluate technologies beyond small laboratory samples.

Park In-kyu, head of science, technology and innovation at the Ministry of Science and ICT, placed the display investment alongside the energy programmes when explaining the decisions:

Fusion and MSR are key technology fields included in the 'Seven SEED Projects', and displays are a sector in which we lead the global market,

The Seven SEED Projects group technologies targeted as future growth engines, including small modular reactors, fusion, renewable energy, quantum technology, space and aerospace, advanced biotechnology and advanced supply chains.

The dates that shape implementation

The programmes now have separate schedules for research, land preparation and completion. Naju's property acquisition and site delivery plans are among the earliest practical steps, while the marine programme has the first completion date among the three approved investments.

• November 3 to 5, 2026: The national evaluation committee conducts written deliberations.
• November 5, 2026: The ministry announces approval of the three programmes.
• 2027: Fusion, marine molten salt reactor and display programmes are scheduled to begin.
• Early 2027: Naju plans to begin negotiated land purchases.
• First half of 2028: Naju aims to provide the fusion research site.
• 2030: The approved marine reactor programme ends.
• 2033: The advanced display platform programme ends.
• 2036: The fusion technology and demonstration infrastructure programme ends.

Park said the government would strengthen strategic research investment and connect it with the creation of new industries. The approved projects put that ambition into three concrete forms: facilities to test fusion components, technologies to integrate a reactor with a ship, and infrastructure to take display research from design to panel demonstrations.

Key Points

• Three programmes worth 2.16747 trillion won are scheduled to start in 2027.
• Fusion receives 1.4813 trillion won through 2036 for core technologies and demonstration infrastructure.
• Naju plans to provide about 530,000 square metres for fusion research facilities by the first half of 2028.
• Marine molten salt reactor research receives 317.3 billion won through 2030, including work on ship integration and safety.
• The advanced display platform receives 368.87 billion won through 2033.
• The small lunar lander development project is still awaiting its preliminary feasibility result.