[Teheran-ro] Streamlining Reviews and Approvals Is the Key to R&D Innovation

"In the United States, they’re pushing a multinational-corporation-centered ‘Stargate Project’ in the name of artificial intelligence (AI), and China is going all in with massive-scale investment... but our country is far too relaxed about this. Minister, you really need to push harder on this today!!"
This was one of the viewer comments posted on the YouTube livestream of the "Science and Technology Policy Briefing" by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 12th. It was effectively a call for Korea to pick up the pace in developing science and technology.
In fact, the dominant theme of that policy briefing was "speed." Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister for Science and ICT and Minister of Science and ICT, repeatedly stressed the importance of speed throughout the session. "There are many different points of collaboration between large corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and research institutes. The problem, I think, is speed," he said. He also noted, "Quantum technology, like AI, is moving very fast," and, "It is crucial that research outcomes come out at the right time, when they are needed." He went on to say, "If research and development falls behind schedule, I believe we will have missed the boat in a big way."
Ironically, the reality on the ground looks rather different.
Take, for example, the process of purchasing research equipment. The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) pointed out that quantum research hinges on three factors—personnel, equipment, and facilities—and that among these, equipment procurement is the bottleneck. To purchase equipment, researchers must first go through a review by the Equipment Purchase Review Committee and then obtain approval from the Public Procurement Service (PPS). KRISS explained that if these procedures were streamlined, research equipment could be acquired more quickly, which in turn would accelerate quantum research.
Similar concerns were raised in connection with proposals to accelerate the commercialization of Small Modular Reactors (SMR). The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) projected that early commercialization would be possible if the review period for SMRs were shortened. It also emphasized that policy consistency on the part of the SMR licensing authorities is crucial, noting that such consistency is what will keep private-sector participation by companies going over the long term.
These issues are already playing out in practice. Consider the National AI Computing Center project: the original goal was to select a private-sector operator by the end of last year. However, the review process is still ongoing, and the schedule has slipped. Although bidding was completed last year and the plan was to open the center in 2027 as a public–private joint project worth 2.5 trillion won, the private operator has yet to be selected.
In December last year, I visited Unitree Robotics, a Chinese humanoid robot company. What struck me most there was the government’s concentrated support for science and technology. The government was backing the technologies it had chosen to foster in a highly coordinated way, and it was actually nurturing globally dominant companies in those fields—something I could not help but envy. Unless administrative innovation comes first, no matter how good the technology is, it is difficult to advance it in a timely manner. I hope the measures to improve speed that were discussed at the policy briefing will be put into practice without delay.
jiany@fnnews.com Reporter