Korea's science and finance ministries join forces to link R&D with industrial growth

South Korea's science ministry and finance ministry held their first-ever joint ministerial meeting on Wednesday, pledging to tie research and development spending directly to industrial and economic policy goals.

Vice Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon and Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il co-chaired the joint session of the economy-related and science-related ministers' meetings at the government complex in Seoul. It was the first time the two councils, which have met separately, convened together since the science ministers' body was launched in November last year.

"Close cooperation across ministries is essential if the results of technology development are to lead to the creation of new industries and markets," Bae said. "Starting with today's first joint meeting, we will pool the capabilities of science and technology and economic policy to create new growth engines."

Lee said science and technology policy and economic and industrial policy "must now move as one body" from original technology R&D through demonstration and commercialization to the fostering of new industries.

The centerpiece of that approach is a set of seven "SEED" projects, which the government will manage by core mission rather than by individual program, linking the projects and investment of each ministry toward targets set for 2030 and 2035. A public-private Frontier Board will be formed, with an implementation plan due by the end of this year and full-scale execution beginning next year.

The meeting also approved measures to strengthen retirement pensions. From 2028, workplaces with 100 or more employees will be required to set aside retirement benefits outside the company in stages. The government will also draw up plans for a fund-type retirement pension and move up the application of default options to two weeks before maturity from four weeks after.

A 600 billion won ($449 million) AI data center will be built in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, as the ninth project under a regional revitalization investment fund. Completion is targeted for November next year, with operations to begin in January 2028.

Separately, the government will consolidate the next-generation local administration systems currently spread across 243 local governments into cloud environments run by the 16 metropolitan and provincial governments. Orders will be placed at the end of 2026, with the systems to open in stages between 2028 and the end of 2029.

The government also confirmed it will end a notice banning hoarding of urea solution on Oct. 31 as scheduled.