Korea Institute of Toxicology launches full rebuild ahead of PBS abolition

The Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT) has launched a sweeping overhaul of its strategy and operations, rebuilding from scratch to transform itself into a mission-driven research institution that delivers tangible results for the public — a move timed to get ahead of the government's planned abolition of the Project-Based System (PBS).

PBS was introduced in 1996 to improve efficiency in government research and development investment and raise research productivity. Under the system, researchers and institutions compete to win project contracts, through which they receive funding to cover research costs. Each project carries fixed allocations for personnel expenses, direct costs and other expenditures.

In practice, however, the system produced unintended consequences: government-funded research institutes came to focus almost exclusively on contracted research rather than their own core work, becoming mired in excessive competition and short-term results. As government R&D projects across ministries shrank in scale, the contracted work taken on by these institutes became more numerous, lower in value and increasingly fragmented — prompting repeated calls for reform. Since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office, the system has been on a path to phased abolition over five years starting this year.

The rebuilding effort reviews the institute's existing framework from the ground up under the vision of becoming "a mission-driven research institution leading public safety and advanced biotech innovation in the post-PBS era." It will be driven by four strategic goals: securing a competitive edge in R&D, advancing toxicology assessment capabilities, strengthening the delivery of outcomes the public can feel, and improving efficiency in GLP (Good Laboratory Practice for non-clinical studies) through AI.

To build consensus among all staff on the need for the rebuild, KIT's director personally toured the main campus and regional offices in a series of briefings to share and make the case for change. An internal call for committee members that followed drew applications from 80 staff, reflecting strong interest and engagement across the organization.

The committee will operate through five specialist subcommittees. Over the next five months, it will hold intensive discussions and seek validation from outside experts in industry, academia and research, with a concrete action plan to be finalized by December and the KIT Rebuilding Strategy formally declared at the January new-year ceremony.

As part of the initiative, KIT plans to give emerging researchers a role in shaping the institute's innovation strategy through "Next Future," a forum for junior researchers seen as the institute's future leaders.

"As public expectations for change at government-funded research institutes grow following the abolition of PBS, I feel the weight of that responsibility deeply," KIT Director Heo Jeong-du said. "With an urgent desire for change, we will set aside the methods and systems of the past and redesign and rebuild a system suited to the new environment."