There’s no border on science and technology

Lee Woo-il
The author is an emeritus professor at Seoul National University and the vice chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology.

You will remember the Middle East construction boom thanks to the surge in oil money in the mid-1970s. Our construction workers served as the foundation for economic growth by earning foreign currency abroad. Kim Dong-geon, the host of KBS’s decades-old musical program, still begins the show with the same greeting, “Overseas Koreans and overseas workers far away … How have you been this past week?”

As the fossil fuel era is expected to end, Middle Eastern countries are accelerating their efforts to change their economic structures. Saudi Arabia, the dominant player in the Middle East, announced its “Saudi Vision 2030” to prepare for the post-petroleum era and accelerate its industrial structure diversification. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Saudi Arabia is meaningful as it helps find a new breakthrough for the Korean economy by expanding cooperation in future-oriented industries such as the hydrogen economy, smart cities and future transportation.

The “Korea-Saudi Future Technology Partnership Forum” was held during the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia. It was a meaningful occasion for experts from both countries to get together and seek cooperation on future technologies in the advanced digital, clean energy, advanced bio and space sectors. As I attended this forum, I could feel that Saudi experts were serious about collaborating with Korean science and technology communities.

In the digital sector, for example, Saudi experts hoping to incorporate Korea’s top-notch technologies — such as AI, Digital Twin, and clouding — into digital transformation projects like NEOM City asked many questions to their Korean counterparts. Now, it has been confirmed that both Korea and Saudi Arabia are becoming key partners in creating various future industries together, not just traditional energy and resources.

What is our domestic situation in this era of global solidarity in science and technology? The proportion of international joint research in the government’s R&D budget is merely 1.9 percent, much lower than that of Italy (7.1 percent), the U.K. (5.3 percent), and Germany (3.4 percent). In addition, international co-authored papers take up 16.2 percent, even lower than the average of OECD member countries which stands at 27.1 percent. This shows that Korea is still conducting Korea-centered studies in the global era. It is necessary to change the science and technology framework to grow together in solidarity with the global science community.

The government restructured some of next year’s R&D budget to clear up inefficiencies, but the R&D budget for global science and technology cooperation increased significantly to 1.8 trillion won ($1.34 billion). That can be seen as an expression of the will to recognize and support the importance of international companionship in the area.

But on top of increasing the budget, a system that supports global R&D cooperation should be reorganized by removing obstacles to joint research and sharing research results. Long-term — and stable — R&D budget assistance for international cooperation from the government should follow because cooperation with research teams with world-class research capabilities is only possible after building trust over an extended time.

There is a Saudi saying, “If you want to cross the desert, choose a good friend.” Now, Korean scientists also must break away from the “frog in a well” mentality and expand their horizons to work with global scientists to foster future generations and contribute to improving the welfare and quality of life for humanity.

There’s a heated social debate over the R&D budget restructuring. The government claims that while the budget has increased rapidly, there has been a lack of sufficient task planning and research design preparation. National research needs to be redirected to boost initiative and innovation, which are the essence of R&D. This should serve as an opportunity to reset the priorities of public R&D to suit the current situation and fundamentally supplement the R&D support system.

At the Future Technology Partnership Forum, President Yoon said, “As a nation’s capabilities depend on the level of science and technology, it must actively pursue education for the next generation, enhance the research capabilities of universities, and advance investment in future high-tech industrial technologies.” Korea’s scientific community must trust the government’s willingness to foster science and technology and put their heads together to create a pioneering research environment.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.