Science ministry launches rare-earth research body

The science ministry launched a rare-earth industry-academia council on Thursday, bringing together about 40 corporate and academic researchers to develop technology that reduces and recycles the rare earths used in high-performance permanent magnets.

The council, part of the materials mission of the government's K-Moonshot program, held its inaugural meeting at the Koreana Hotel in Seoul. The mission aims to develop substitute, low-reduction and recycled permanent magnets and to internalize manufacturing and recycling technology.

Kim Sung-soo, head of the ministry's research and development policy office, said Korea imports most of its rare earths and permanent magnets from China, leaving it exposed to supply chain risks tied directly to economic security. "Ultimately, we need a national capacity to reduce and recycle rare-earth use," he said, adding that the government would fully support efforts to secure independent original technology.

Rare earths such as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium are essential raw materials for the magnets that drive motors in electric vehicles, robots and defense equipment, with more than ten times the magnetic performance of ordinary magnets.

The program will mobilize domestic research capacity from 2027, led by the Korea Institute of Materials Science, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. It will pursue manufacturing processes that eliminate heavy rare earths and drastically reduce light rare earths, along with technology to recover rare earths from discarded permanent magnets.

The first phase, running from 2027 to 2029, is meant to secure independent original technology, and the second, from 2030 to 2033, will refine and demonstrate it at industrial sites. Artificial intelligence will be used across the research process, from identifying candidate materials to designing particle microstructures and searching for green solvents and electrodes.

The council will be chaired by the K-Moonshot materials program director and will serve as a standing channel for sharing information and cooperation, tracking rare-earth technology and industry trends and connecting companies' research needs with firms capable of testing technology.