MSIT Selects New Projects in Second Round of Individual Basic Research Program, Expands Funding and Duration

[Financial News] The Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 25th that, after announcing and evaluating the second round of new projects for the 2026 Individual Basic Research Program, it selected 2,496 projects, including basic research, challenge-driven research and strategic research, and will provide a total of 152 billion won starting Sept. 1.
In this second round of basic research projects, basic research accounts for the largest share with 2,366 projects. Basic research supports small-scale, long-term studies for researchers across a wide range of fields, including early-career faculty members and researchers based in regional areas, to broaden the foundation of the basic research ecosystem. The program was abolished in 2024, but has been restored and expanded this year.
Compared with 2023, before basic research was abolished, the average funding per project has risen about 10% to 55.86 million won from 50.91 million won. The support period will also be extended from a maximum of three years to five years to help ensure more stable research.
The new project selection also includes challenge-driven research to enhance the originality and innovation of research topics, as well as strategic research to support basic research that responds to national and social needs, thereby strengthening the innovation, challenge and strategic value of basic research.
First, challenge-driven research supports studies aimed at discovering and establishing new concepts. To allow such work to be linked with existing projects or future projects, an exception was applied to the rule that each individual researcher may conduct only one project. The challenge-driven projects were first screened based on preliminary proposals summarizing the originality and innovation of the research topics, followed by a full review, and 50 projects were selected. Going forward, the ministry plans to manage research failures flexibly in line with the goal of strengthening challenge.
In the case of strategic research, the ministry supports strategic basic research that responds to national and social demand in areas such as national strategic technologies and promising future fields. It designated fields needed at the national level, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), semiconductors, robots, genes and infectious diseases, and selected 80 projects.
Kim Seong-su, head of the Research and Development Policy Office at MSIT, said, "The diversity of basic research is the starting point for exploring new research fields and expanding convergent research." He added, "We will continue to support efforts to broaden diversity by expanding opportunities for early-stage researchers to enter and grow, while further strengthening the challenge and innovation of basic research."

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