S. Korea overhauls national R&D evaluation system to reward bold research

Researchers whose national R&D projects fall short of their stated goals will still be recognized as outstanding if they generate exceptional data and knowledge through a bold research process, under a sweeping overhaul of South Korea's national research evaluation system.

A "moving target" system that allows researchers to quickly revise their objectives mid-project in response to a rapidly shifting technology landscape will also be fully introduced next year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Monday that it had finalized the "2026 National R&D Administrative System Improvement Plan" and notified relevant ministries — including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy.

The plan was drawn up based on 349 opinions gathered from research sites and was deliberated and approved at the eighth session of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council on Wednesday.

The government will focus on three priorities: shifting the paradigm for project evaluation to encourage bold research, strengthening both autonomy and accountability in research funding, and streamlining research administration while systematizing the management of international joint research.

To move away from conservative, goal-completion-driven research and foster more ambitious work, the government has already scrapped the results-based grading and scoring evaluation system and will establish a new project evaluation framework by October.

Under the new framework, projects will be recognized as outstanding not only when they produce results with significant academic, technological or industrial impact, but also when they fail to meet an innovative goal yet secure valuable data and knowledge through trial and error — designated "outstanding challenge projects." Such projects will receive incentives including links to follow-on research and government commendations.

Conversely, projects found to have violated laws, failed to fulfill contractual obligations, or engaged in research misconduct will be classified as "inappropriate projects" and face strong sanctions, including recovery of research funds and restrictions on future participation in national R&D programs. The intent is to draw a clear distinction between simple research failure and research misconduct, encouraging researchers to take bold risks.

To enable rapid responses to a fast-changing global technology environment, the moving target system — allowing researchers to change their objectives mid-project — will be fully introduced next year. To support this, the government will significantly shorten the procedure for changing research goals and establish a cross-ministry guideline using a "negative list" approach that specifies only the cases in which goal changes are not permitted.

Autonomy and accountability in research funding will also be strengthened. The current restriction requiring research facilities and equipment to be procured at least two months before the end of a project phase will be relaxed to a set period before the overall project end date. If the launch of a follow-on phase is delayed after a phase concludes, any remaining direct-cost balance will be automatically carried over so that essential personnel costs can be covered even before phase evaluation results are finalized.

A new individual cap will be introduced for research allowances. On top of the existing limits — a total cap of 20 percent of overall personnel costs and a single-person distribution cap of 70 percent of total research allowances — a new standard will be added capping each researcher's allowance at 100 percent of their own personnel costs charged to a given project.

The administrative burden of settling research funds will also be reduced. Cross-ministry standard settlement guidelines and a casebook of allowable and disallowable expenses will be developed to unify settlement criteria that currently vary by ministry and accounting firm. When a first-year or final-year contract period is shorter than six months, the annual report may be consolidated into the following year's report or a similar document.

Oversight of international joint research will be tightened to prevent mismanagement. The government plans to strengthen monitoring of how research funds remitted to overseas institutions are used, and to develop full-cycle research support measures that protect the intellectual property rights and research outcomes of domestic institutions when entering into agreements with foreign partners.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will begin revising relevant laws and regulations — including the enforcement decree of the Act on the Promotion of National Research and Development Innovation — in September, with the aim of fully implementing the improved system from 2027.

Park In-gyu, head of the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters, said creating an autonomous research environment where scientists can immerse themselves in bold and challenging work is essential to maximizing South Korea's R&D competitiveness. "We will eliminate unnecessary practices and build an innovative research ecosystem grounded in trust and accountability," he said.