South Korea to overhaul national R&D support system with AI-driven services

The operator of the Integrated Research Information System (IRIS) — the cross-ministry platform researchers use to apply for, evaluate and manage national R&D projects — will transfer from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI).

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Thursday that KISTEP and KISTI signed a memorandum of understanding on the transfer of the IRIS project and its operating organization. KISTI will lead the platform's operation and further development going forward.

IRIS is a cross-ministry platform built to consolidate research project support and management systems that had previously been run separately by individual ministries, allowing researchers to handle national R&D project applications, evaluations and management through a single system.

The transfer was pursued to strengthen IT and data expertise ahead of a sweeping overhaul of the national R&D information system.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to begin integrating four major research support systems next year: IRIS, the research fund management systems Ezbaro and RCMS, and the National Science and Technology Information Service (NTIS). AI-based research administration support services will also be introduced to deliver improvements that researchers can tangibly experience.

KISTI brings experience operating large-scale science and technology information systems, including NTIS. It plans to leverage its own AI and big data technology and computing infrastructure to improve IRIS service stability and expand research support functions, while also strengthening defenses against external threats such as cyberattacks and fires.

The MOU covers the full scope of roles and cooperation between the two institutions, including the comprehensive transfer of personnel and staffing quotas needed to operate IRIS, the handover of tangible and intangible assets such as systems and computing equipment, data migration, the succession of existing service contracts, and preparations for next year's operations.

To prevent service disruptions from the change in operator, the transfer will proceed in stages. KISTI will set up an operations office and launch a task force in October to prepare for next year's work. Personnel, organizational and contract transfers will follow in the second half of the year, with large-scale infrastructure migration scheduled for mid-next year.

During the infrastructure migration in particular, the ministry said it will issue advance notices and establish step-by-step transfer procedures to ensure researchers experience no interruptions to IRIS access or services.

Park In-gyu, head of the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters, said the transfer of IRIS to KISTI "goes beyond a simple change of operator — it is an important turning point in transforming the national R&D information system into a specialized platform that leads the digital and AI era." He added that the ministry would "take every precaution to ensure researchers face no inconvenience during the transition."

KISTI President Lee Sik said the institute would "provide high-quality services that researchers can truly feel, backed by the best AI and data technology," now that it has taken over IRIS as the repository of national R&D information.