Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, Bae Kyung-hoon, answered questions from ruling and opposition party members during a National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Science and ICT held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 13th. (Yonhap News)
It was revealed that during the budget cut process for the 2023 research and development (R&D) budget, Choi Sang-mok, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs, had directed a reduction to 10 trillion won. The Ministry of Science and ICT was effectively excluded from the budget setting and “steered by the presidential office.”
During the National Assembly audit by the Committee on Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications on the 13th, Minister Bae Kyung-hoon answered a question from Roh Jong-myung, a Democratic Party lawmaker, about who led the R&D budget cuts and adjustments at the time.
The Ministry of Science and ICT has been running a task force to investigate the R&D budget cut process since early last month.
According to an interim report from the task force received by Representative Roh from the Ministry of Science and ICT, originally, the ministry had prepared a major R&D budget of 25.4 trillion won, an increase of 600 billion won compared to the previous year. However, during the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting on June 28, former President Yoon Seok-yeol pointed out the “sharing of R&D” and instructed a complete re-evaluation. On July 6, Secretary Choi, after reporting to the president, ordered setting the major R&D budget to 10 trillion won.
The Ministry of Science and ICT had planned to report to the president a plan for “dismantling the R&D cartel and major transformation of dream R&D” using savings from restructuring over 10% of the major R&D funds. However, after Secretary Choi reported a 10 trillion won reconsideration plan to the president on July 5, it was canceled. Choi then reportedly led an increase using a “brick-laying” method, adding feasible budgets one by one based on the 10 trillion won foundation.
In an internal forum presided over by the president on July 20 at Yongsan, the presidential office indicated creating a major R&D budget of 17.4 trillion won, which was subsequently adjusted to a scale of 21.5 trillion won through persuasion by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Deputy Prime Minister Bae remarked, “I understand that the economic chief led the budget brick-laying process.”
Meanwhile, there was a suggestion that the starting point of the R&D budget cut was the Korea-US summit held in April 2023.
In response to the query by Democratic Party Representative Lee Ju-hee, asking if the starting point of the R&D cuts was President Yoon Seok-yeol’s visit to the U.S. in April, Deputy Prime Minister Bae stated, “Following the visit, there was an emphasis on the necessity of global R&D and discussions on securing related budgets.”
In response to the inquiry by Democratic Party Representative Hwang Jung-ah about apologizing to the science and technology community affected by the R&D cuts, Deputy Prime Minister Bae expressed, “I apologize to all who were affected by the R&D cuts and the Ministry of Science and ICT will make utmost efforts to prevent such situations from occurring again.”